Paradise Never
by SylentStryke
Summary: Rewrote the summary. After the Seventh Maverick War, the Mavericks go on the offensive and attack the Hunters. But something much bigger than Sigma is brewing. MUCH bigger. Rated for violence, language and somewhat humor. Read on! STORY COMPLETE!
1. Characters and Terminology

This chapter is just introductions of the characters and some terms. I will update this part as new terms come forward, but the characters are to remain in their chapters. Feel free to skip this part if you want, as it is not necessary to understand the main story.

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**Chapter 0: Meet the characters**

**Maverick Hunters**

Megaman X (Rock Light) - Commander of the 17th Division of the Maverick Hunters. Said to be the oldest reploid to date. Created by Dr. Thomas Light. Megaman X has survived seven maverick uprisings, defeated countless numbers of Mavericks, and has acquired numerous armor upgrades from the late Dr. Light. X is a hero among both reploids and humans, for he has saved the world from chaos many a time. Though he opposes war, he continues to fight in order to protect the innocent.

Zero (Zero "Omega" Wily) - Commander of Special Unit 0 of the Maverick Hunters. First reploid to be created a maverick. Created by Dr. Albert Wily. Before having the virus removed, Zero was confronted and defeated by Sigma, leader of the Maverick Hunters turned Maverick. Afterwards, Zero's memory had been reset, and his body cleansed of the virus. However, Sigma contracted the virus, and later became maverick. Zero was the commander of the 17th during the 1st Maverick Uprising. He died while fighting Vile, in order to let X continue on. His parts were gathered later on, and he was rebuilt. Zero is an expert in close range melee combat. Extremely feared by mavericks, he has earned the nickname "Crimson Devil".

Axl - New Generation Reploid Prototype. He was part of an organization, Red Alert, and joined with the Maverick Hunters temporarily. He later left the Hunters to venture out on his own after the seventh Sigma Body was destroyed. Little is known about his whereabouts, though sightings of a reploid clad in deep blue armor with a ragged cloak has been seen around the city of Neo Tokyo.

Locke Neonite - Maverick Hunter assigned to the 17th Division. Has expertise in close range melee combat. Locke attended MHA (Maverick Hunter Academy) along with close friend, Stryke Syphon, two years ago. She is one of many new generation reploids. She has been with the Maverick Hunters for three years. Locke is mostly energetic and bouncing off the walls, but when a serious matter pops up, she is attentive and alert. Most of her past is unknown.

Stryke Syphon - Maverick Hunter assigned to the 17th Division. Experienced in extra long range combat (sniping). Attended MHA two years ago. Stryke is also a new generation reploid. He has become a very mature person ever since his human family was killed by a group of bounty hunters. He is calm, cool and collected on the outside, but haunted by past memories of the deaths of those closest to him. Though he wants to avenge them, he also knows that would be pointless, as they cannot be brought back to life.

Kicker Yamito - Maverick Hunter assigned to the Medical Division. Joined the Hunters four years ago as a researcher/field medic. He is a conservative reploid, but isn't afraid to speak his mind to anyone. Quite the investigator, he constantly tries to solve the mystery behind X and Zero's compositions.

Leyna Strider - Maverick Hunter assigned to Special Unit 0. She joined the Hunters about two years ago. An elite in long range combat with various assault weapons, she has skills that far surpass those of normal soldiers, which is why she was placed in the 0th unit. Her attitude can be both sweet and innocent at times, and frightening enough to give even Zero the chill effect. She has a past that is unclear and shady, but as far as people see her, she is just a Hunter.

Alia - Navigator/Intelligence Operator in the Maverick Hunters. Alia joined the Hunters during the period between the fourth and fifth Maverick Uprisings. She specializes in detailed information about Maverick Generals, area info and other environmental intel. She is a close friend of Megaman X, and often acts like a mother to him.

Signas­ - General and Commandant of the Maverick Hunters. Received position of Commandant after the retirement (read - destruction) of the late General.... General. With an advanced CPU, he is fit for the position he is put in.

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**Mavericks/Erasers**

Scar Acceleron - Leader of the 13th Maverick Sting Corps. Scar was a hunter that went Maverick during his second year as a Maverick Hunter. Originally, he was stationed in Special Unit 0, but left the hunters when he rebelled and killed over three-fourths of Special Unit 0. Why he rebelled is still a mystery. He is a swift reploid who enjoys the thrill of a fight, but is intimidating to be around as an ally, especially if you're a rookie. But his tough exterior and cold heart are absent when Echo Zelinger and Rayne Zelinger, his closest and only friends, are around him.

Echo Zelinger - Second in command of the 13th Maverick Sting Corps. She is an upbeat reploid with a tongue sharp enough to cut diamonds. As you can tell by her name, she is a quick reploid with skills of a Shinobi. An expert in close range combat, she takes risks every time a battle breaks out that others consider suicidal. She is close friends with Scar Acceleron. If it wasn't for her differently hued hair, you would mistake her for her twin, Rayne Zelinger.

Rayne Zelinger - A sniper in the 13th Maverick Sting Corps. Rayne Zelinger acts in many ways like her twin, Echo Zelinger. Her skills as a sniper are so advanced, picking off a target half a mile away with a pistol is a walk in the park for her. With both Echo and Rayne on the same battle field, very few enemies walk away. Close friend of Scar Acceleron.

Blue - A mercenary figure that recently joined the Mavericks. Not much is known about this reploid, since he almost never talks, and is rarely seen anywhere if he is not needed. His past is unknown, though it is clear that he is a new generation reploid.

Orion - 2nd Supreme Commander of the Maverick Forces. A reploid lined with synthetic muscle and superior intellect. A fearsome foe to the Maverick Hunters. He is current stationed at Maverick Outpost Orion. He is 2nd Superior of the four Maverick Generals. The other three are unknown at the moment.

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**Terms**

Digitanium - Digitanium is a molecular substance that can be compounded thousands of times into a thick solid, providing four times the strength into objects. Digitanium, in its pure form, can duplicate its mass over time, making it inexhaustible. It can also be compounded into most elements, with the exception of inert gases. Most structures on Neo Earth are now digitanium reinforced, such as digisteel and digicrete. Digitanium is used greatly in the military for weapons, armor, and various other uses. Digitanium ore was said to be found by and named after a female reploid child during 22XX, after the sixth Maverick Uprising.

Neo Earth - Neo Earth came into existence after the Eurasia Incident. Earth had been on the brink of destruction, and was nearly wiped from existence. But the humans and reploids joined together to "nurse the planet back to health". With the discovery of digitanium, planetary recovery sped up greatly. Now called Neo Earth (New Earth), most of the continents are adding Neo to the front of their names.

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Ok, hopefully this will clear some things up about the characters and/or terms.Alright, let's get on to the story.


	2. Off Time

Paradise Never  
By: SylentStryke  
Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Well, awright!!! My first fic!! I don't own Megaman X. (If I did, Megaman X7 wouldn't have been so bad, IMHO….) Anywayz, you guys know the rest! Enjoy!

**  
Chapter 1: Off Time**

Time-20:08

Footsteps. Swift, but quiet, footsteps. There were dozens of them. The 13th Maverick Sting Corps ran swiftly through the thick forest brush. They were on a mission: destroy the Maverick Hunters Headquarters (MHHQ) leaders. Determined, they quickened their pace. As unit leader, Scar had a lot riding on his back.

-Flashback-  
"Scar… how would you like to, make a little deal, hmm?" said a mysterious figure.

"......"

"If you complete this mission, I'll give it back. If you fail, I shall destroy it along with your pride. So, what do you say?"

With a stone cold glare in his eyes, he said, "...Deal..."

-End Flashback-

Scar showed no emotion. His soul was burning with one desire, to complete his objective. He looked down at his wrist; 20:12, 200 feet until destination. He signaled his unit to slow down. They stop near a ledge, overlooking the massive MHHQ. Security is heavy. Not sumo heavy, but elephant on steroids heavy. Flood lights searching every corner of the giant structure. Infrared lasers guarding every door. Timed security pulse scanners emitting a 50 yard radius scanner every few minutes.

"Oh shit. Sir, are you sure we can do this?" asked a rookie Maverick. "I mean, look at this security!! If we take a step closer, we'll be..." Scar didn't say a word; he instead looked the rookie right in the eye, sending a wave of ice through him. The rookie gulped.

"We WILL complete this mission, kid. Why do you think we spent so much time preparing for it?" a cocky Maverick said a few moments later. She went by the name of Echo. Second in command, and damn proud of it, she grinned widely. "Better get that adrenaline pumpin', cause with your experience, you're gonna need tons of it!"

"Hold that thought Echo..." Scar said, looking down at his communicator. His voice startled some of the rookies. "Looks like our plan has been delayed until morning. I recommend all of you resting for now. I want this operation to run smoothly tomorrow."  
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Meanwhile in MHHQ...  
-21:28-

"YAHOO!!!!" Doors crashed open, as the proud Maverick Hunter known as Zero, comes dashing through the Level 4 hall. Why was he so proud? .....Who knows? Any poor pedestrian in his way either got a faceful of wall, or got trampled. "Hehehe!!!" Zero giggled like a little kid. Suddenly, he stopped his rampage and stood there, with a blank look on his face. "Man, I never knew how good it felt to get offa work so early! All that stupid work with the paper, and the writing..."

"Paperwork?"

"Yeah, that's it! Pa..."

Zero froze his sentence right then and there. Only one person on the entire base could have such a voice. A voice that could be sweet one minute, terrifying the next. A voice that he heard 5 days a week, 3 PM to 10 PM, at the desk across from his cubicle. With a heavy gulp, he turned around to face his fear.

"Um, yea! Uh, that's what it's called, that paperwork stuff. They let me get off early." He put on the widest grin he could, hoping that Leyna would buy the bridge he was selling.

"Oh really? Is that why you dashed outta there so quickly? We wouldn't be skipping, would we?" Leyna stared at him with accusing eyes.

"Mmmm.... So, who's the ass wipe that told you that?"

She pointed down the hall at all the victims who were either face planted in the wall or on the ground. Zero looked at them with eyes only a murderer would have, and they all scattered.

"Plus, your computer is broken. How did that happen?"

"Oh, _that_! Umm, let's just say, I kinda sorta, maybe, probably played with my saber while waiting for a file to load?"

"..."

"Wait, how did you know it was broken?"

"Because I think that your saber kinda sorta, maybe, probably ran through my monitor as well?"

"Oh! Sorry? Are you gonna write me up?" he said with the guiltiest voice.

She sighed. "Nah, I think I'll skip the rest of the night with you."

"Are you serious!?" The grin returned.

She put on a grin wild enough to match Zero's. "Yup."

His guilt vanished, and mischief returned. "Well, come on then!" He grabbed her arm and continued his mad dash down the hall.  
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Armory  
-21:41-

Sluggish, heavy feet carried X to his armor locker, which was down in the B5 basement sector of the armory. Poor X had to walk down the stairs with what felt like 1,000 pounds of Titanium X grade steel armor on his body. Five flights of stairs and heavy armor, the perfect equation for eternal soreness. He finally made it to his locker minutes later.

"Ahhh." X sighed as he sat down on the bench across from his locker. He started to remove the Arm Cannon SC, and his helmet. "Man, what I would give to be a rookie again..." Off goes the Cannon and helmet. He thought about his past battles. Vile popped up in his thoughts. "Nevermind..." The boots, chest and back plates, and left gauntlet fell to the floor. "AHHH! Now that's _weight_ off my shoulders!" He looked around to see if anyone heard his bad joke. Not a soul in sight. Good, no embarrassment today. That is until he opened his locker, only to have tons of water to be dumped on him. And that water was _cold_!!! Freaking frost was developing on his door! Inside, in a dry spot on the far wall, was a note, it said:

"Hey X! Hope you don't mind me hiding this ice chunk in your freezer! Be back to get it in about 3 hrs. CYA!!!

-Zero"

Too shocked from the water to express anger, X tried to recuperate from his near system reboot. He pulled a pen from his pocket, and scribbled on back of the note. Then he stuffed it in his pocket along with the pen, took a long sigh, and reached for a drying towel. Well, at least now he doesn't need a shower, just a heater.  
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Please Review! Thanx!!


	3. Experiments and Prep

Disclaimer: Hey! Chapter Two! I don't own Megaman X, but I do own my original characters. Have at it! I would like to thankWarp Ligia Obscura for being the first to review my story! All reviews are welcome, member or not, so feel free to let me know how I'm doin'!

**Chapter 2: Experiments and Prep**

Bar  
Time:  
-22:01-

As Zero and Leyna walked in the door to the bar, they were greeted by the members of the 17th Division. Locke, who was clad in melancholy gray armor, Stryke, clad in dull black armor, and Kicker, who was clad in white armor with a blue medical cross across his chest. They already had ordered Leyna's drink, but left Zero to get his own, because his drink preference changes hourly.

"Hey Zero, sorry we didn't get your drink, but-"Stryke started but was cut off.

"I know, I know. It's fine!! Now, gimme that menu!" Zero really only has two loves. Booze, and his state of the art, high maintenance, flowing hair. The latter being the most important. "Hmm... You guys go ahead and order your stuff, it might take me awhile." Zero said to the group.

"Ok, I'll have a shaken martini, please." Locke ordered.

Stryke ordered a glass of water. Zero chuckled while his face was still in the menu.

Kicker ordered. "I'll have a margarita."

Stryke's comm phone rung.

"Hello? Hey! Uh-huh. Yep. Pink. Bet you. Cya."

"Pink?" Zero perked up from the wonderful world of liquor to look at Stryke.

"Yeah, that's the color of the next Reploid Captain."

"Oh. Ok! Awright!!!! Here's my order:"

"One Martini, stirred not shaken."

"One Martini, shaken not stirred."

"Three Strawberry Daquaris."

"Um, how big are your hugest glasses?"

"24oz."

"Excellent. I'll have 6 glasses, full to the brim, of Rum and Coke. And a large, empty bowl. That'll be all."

"THAT'S ALL?!" The group said in unison.

Zero looked innocently at them and said, "What?"

Stryke laughed out loud. "_Oh man! He is not gonna be able to avoid this!!!"_ Stryke thought.

Everyone knew why he was laughing. Except for Zero. Everybody's drinks came, and Zero's massive alcohol pool was coming as well.

Leyna looked across their table, at a lone figure standing against a wall. The reploid had a long blue, stylish coat, with tails that fell down to his knees. His face was obscured by shadows. But one feature of this mystery man that gave Leyna a chill down her spine, was a silver gem somewhere on his face. It looked like some sort of large diamond.

"Leyna? You ok?" Locke asked her friend.

"Huh? Yea, I'm ok. I'm just a bit tired."

By this time, Zero had gotten his booze and was giddy like a little kid during Christmas. Without a second thought, he poured all of the liquor into the bowl, and stirred it up with a few spoons. Everyone in the bar watched in awe.

Leyna looked toward where the figure was standing. No sign of him. Good. Zero was chugging his "Mega Elixir" and the crowd around him cheered him on. Three more gulps. Stryke was thinking about how high this guy's tolerance is. Kicker was thinking about how long he'll be drunk. Two more gulps. A normal reploid could only stomach in one week what Zero managed to do in an hour. One gulp. Zero felt like he accomplished something great. Leave it to him to take life to the extreme. Finished. The crowd cheered as they walked out of the bar.

"Shit, Zero! How do you manage to keep it all down? Without feeling the least bit tipsy?" Leyna asked her co-worker as they walked through the parking lot.

"Hehe. Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough!" Zero said unexpectantly.

"What the hell does that mean?" Locke questioned the ultimate red wonder.

"Weelll.... I'm doing an experiment. To see how -hiccup- how.... looonnggg I can stay  
-burp- noooottttt druuuuunk." He fell backwards, passed out. Stryke caught him and staggered back a little from the dead weight. They all looked at each other and said, "Pass out number 37."

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Maverick Hunters Headquarters (MHHQ)  
Time:  
-22:43-

X walked out of Zero's quarters with a satisfied grin on his face. He was now dressed in his evening outfit. A shirt that was about the same color as his standard armor. Baggy pants, gray in color. Comfortable clothes. Now, he was feeling hungry, so he went to the mess hall to grab a snack. When he got there, he noticed some of Zero's Unit sitting on the far side. They were conversing about how drunk Zero had gotten in the past 30 minutes. He went through the line, looking for a salad bowl. All out. He took a veggie soup instead. X sat down in a seat that was somewhat secluded, along a wall. He sighed as he sat down and winced as his body was sore from his trek up and down the armory stairs. Turns out that our crimson friend caused the elevator to crash. A 2,000 lb. ride armor shouldn't really fit in an elevator with a weight limit of 1,000 lbs. But, he had to pee, really, _really_ badly. That's reason enough, right? X began eating. The soup was lukewarm, and had an awful after-taste. But he couldn't care less, hunger conquers taste right now.

"Hey X."

Nearly choking on his spoon, X managed to say, "Hi-coughgagcough-.... Alia..."

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you choke!"

"That's ok. I would have probably choked anyway."

"So, how was your day?" Alia asked curiously.

"Well, let's see, after the combat training, I had to walk down five flights of stairs to my armor locker, opened it only to find tons of water to crash out of it onto me, that was a present from Zero by the way, and now I'm telling you how my day was while eating crap soup. All in all, it was okay."

"Aww. Poor you. Are you gonna get him back?"

"Hehe. Oh yeah..."

Alia grinned and asked X to tell him what he had planned. He looked over at the Zero posse and saw that they had mostly dispersed. He whispered in her ear and she grinned even wider.

"Think it'll work, X?"

"If this doesn't, then nothing else will."

"All right, bout time! I still need to get him back for the time when I first joined up and asked him to show me where the dorms were and he led me into the men's locker room."

X held back a smirk as he tried to keep a straight face, because he had a part in that little joke.

"Yeah so, anyway I think I'm gonna go get some rest now. See ya later, X!"

"Goodnight!"

She flashed him a smile. As she walked out of the mess hall, X just stared at her. She was wearing a light green shirt, and matching pants. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, slim bangs in the front. He found himself staring at her more and more. Almost in a trance like state. Then the smell of trash soup reached his nose, and broke him out of his trance.

"Hmm. Maybe I should get some sleep as well." And with that, X was off to his own room.

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Cliffs  
Time:  
-05:39-

While the rookies of Scar's unit slept, Scar, Echo, and Blue, a mercenary who found them last night, stood watch. Blue was adjusting his weapons: a dual action pistol, plasma daggers, and a compact sniper rifle (SR-U001), which was a prototype weapon. He also had an eyepatch over his left eye. It glowed an eerie silver. Echo was busy punching the air, drawing her bladed tonfas every once in a while. Scar just sat in one spot, thinking about the mission. The sun was peeking over the horizon, as if it was sneaking a peek at the being in the forested cliffs.

"_Scar........ Scar........"_

"_What do you want from me now?"_

"_Nothing, just to remind you, don't try anything you might regret later."_

"_Whatever."_

"_So. Scar, tell me, what's it like to have betrayed those who took you in..."_

"_GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!"_

"_Hehe. Just remember, I'm always watching you..."_

"Hey, Scar, you ok? Not spazzin' out now, are ya?" Echo asked her Commander.

"............"

Echo had a sad expression on her face.

"...I'm fine, Echo..."

"Kay, just checkin'!"

"So, Echo, who are our targets?" Blue questioned in a firm, but casual tone.

She re-sheathed her blades, looked over towards the massive base. Turned her head and gave him a smirk...

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Hehe! Another chapter down! I'll have the next chapter up soon (more action in the upcoming chapters, I promise!) Cya!


	4. Maverick Attack

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah. I don't own Megaman X.

Anyway, ready for a long chapter? Are ya sure? Then, read on....

**  
Chapter 3: Maverick Battle**

Dorms  
Time:  
-06:45-

Locke woke up to the blaring alarm clock that seemed to drown out all sound within a  
3 km radius. She figured if it could be heard through the entire eastern side of MHHQ, it would surely wake her up, being in the same room and all. She pounded the "OFF" button, and headed for the shower. She grabbed the shampoo from her dresser, turned the hot water on, disrobed and got in. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

Knock knock. She ignored it.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

".........."

BAM. BAM. BAM.

"WHAT?!" Locke screamed, half out of surprise, the other half out of annoyance.

"LOCKE! WHO DID THIS!?!?" She couldn't make out the voice too clearly, because of the water splattering on the floor of the shower; also, the door was thick, and absorbed sound.

"DID WHAT?"

"YOU _KNOW_ WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!"

She thought she heard laughter. It soon died out as she heard whoever was at her door shout something. Probably a threat, seeing as though this person was pretty angry. She turned the shower off a started to dry off.

"No, I Don't. Sorry!" She wrapped a towel around her slender body and another around her golden brown hair.

"I BET THAT YOU DID IT! YOU KNOW, YOU WERE ALWAYS JEALOUS!!"

She heard the voice more clearly now. It was a male. He sounded really, _really_ pissed off. "What are you talking about?! Me? Jealous?"

"COME LOOK AT THIS, RIGHT NOW DAMN IT!!!"

She needed to get this pest off of her back so she stormed to the door, punched in a code and it flew open, revealing the most shocking thing she'd ever seen.

"Ohmigod! Zero! What happened?" She wanted to laugh so badly, but kept her face as straight as possible, as not to anger him anymore, if at all possible.

"Don't play dumb, Locke, I know it was you!" Zero said through clenched teeth.

There Zero stood, at Locke's doorway, dripping wet with a towel around his waist. He had just gotten out of the shower, Locke figured. He had to hurt someone. Pink hair did not fly with the crimson demon.

"Zero, w-why did you dye your hair pink?"

Zero looked as if he was about to eviscerate the nearest object, which happened to be Locke at the moment.

"I.Didn't.Dye.My.Hair.You.Put.PINK.DYE.IN.MY.SHAMPOO!!" Zero once again said this through clenched teeth.

She looked him in the face with a serious expression. Then she thought about last night. Stryke's comm phone conversation. She remembered the word pink. X was on the other end of that phone chat.

"Hehe, I think you should see X about your hair, Zero. He was kinda irked about having freezing water crash on him in the cold armory. Zero?"

Zero was half way up the elevator, and on his way to X's room. When he got there, he practically murdered the door. X opened it and saw Zero looking at him with ginzu bladed eyes.

"X. Why did you put pink dye in my hair wash?!" Zero asked his friend who was yawning.

"Zero, what the hell were 10 gallons of the coldest water on earth doing in my armor locker?" X re-questioned in a mocking tone.

"Water? I didn't put water in there. And where did you put the ice?" Zero stopped and thought for a bit. "You mean that's not a freezer? I thought you had one!"

"Zero, what would I be doing with a freezer on the fifth floor of the armory?! What the hell were _you _doing with a block of ice?!"

"I was gonna take it to the mess hall and get rid of it..." Zero said with a miffed expression.

Stryke turned the corner and saw Zero with pink hair. He quickly turned around and went the other way, trying to hold back the laughter, but couldn't. Alia passed him on the way.

"Hey, what's got you laughing so hard?" She asked innocently. Stryke looked at her with teary eyes and just laughed even harder. She turned the corner just as Zero turned around to walk back to the elevator. His eyes widened. He ran past her, trying not to let her see his hair. But it was too late. He kept running anyway though. She was about to knock on X's door but it slid open, due to it was unlocked. She saw him grinning widely as she sat down next to him. She put two and two together. X got his revenge.

"Hey Alia." X said gleefully.

"X. I couldn't have done better myself. Anyway, Weapons R&D wants you to come down. Said they have a surprise for you."

"Oh really? Ok, let's go."

They got up a walked out of X's room. He locked the door, and continued down the hallway toward the R&D division. X and Alia started chatting on the way.

"So...um...Alia." X stammered a little.

"Yes?" Alia replied sheepishly.

"Um...if...you aren't doing anything tomorrow...would you mind if I...took you out?" X struggled for the words, but he got up the courage after two years to finally say it. Now, he waited for rejection.

"Not at all. I would love to." Alia replied with a face that steadily toned darker with blush.

"What? I mean, great!" X now grinned happily as he still absorbed her acceptance.

This made her blush even more. "Well, I gotta get going, see what R&D wants. See ya later, Alia!" X said, filled with joy.

As he climbed the stairs, making his way up to the elevator, Alia looked at him with butterflies in her abdomen.

"About time..." She whispered to herself.

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Weapons R&D  
Time:  
-07:18-

The large digisteel doors slid open with a soft mechanical hum as X stepped in front of them. He stepped inside and looked around the rather large lab. It was filled with tons of tried and failed machinery. He spotted the four prototype buster cannons Douglass had him test during the past week. Three of them blew up; two while trying to charge, one while adjusting the energy input. The fourth didn't even work. Douglass saw X and called him name.

"X! Over here!" Douglass shouted. He seemed rather proud of whatever it is he was about to unleash on poor X.

X reluctantly walked over to Douglass, who was standing in front of what could be an armor capsule. Oh no. If it is an armor, he might not be able to keep that date with Alia tomorrow.

"Hey, umm, that _is_ an armor in that capsule right?" X asked with a concerned voice.

"Hmm, whaddaya mean-" He was cut off by a blaring alarm.

A voice swept through the building: "All Hunters report to HQ, immediately. Repeat, all Hunters...." X swore under his breath. It would take way too much time to go back to his room, unlock the door, get his armory key, run down to the armory, get his armor and still get to the HQ quickly. He had no choice but to don the prototype armor Douglass designed. This made him feel uneasy.

"X, this armor has been tested already, and is combat ready." Douglass said. This eased X' s mind tremendously. Douglass went on."It has plasma-injected dash engines, an upgraded buster cannon, and-"

"Douglass! How do I put it on?"

"Hold on." Douglass told X to press the button on the side of the capsule. He did so and white auras appeared around his body. X knew what was coming and flinched. With a flash, X had his new armor on. He sighed. The fact that it was combat ready really put his mind at rest. He glanced at himself in the glass the armor was in. The armor was a dark blue with gold edging. The boots were definitely more maneuverable. He barely felt the weight at all. His torso felt cool and relax, as there were insulated vents installed. On his back were two rather compact metal wings. Each of his buster cannons had secondary functions. His helmet fit perfectly on his head. It still had a communicator in it, but was much more comfortable.

"X, I think you should go." Douglass broke him out of his current state.

"Right. Thanks Douglass."

"No problem, X, any time!" Douglass said with a proud expression.

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HQ  
Time:  
-07:27-

X rushed into the HQ to find Zero, Alia, Signas, Locke, and Leyna all waiting for him.

"Nice of you to show up, X." Zero said playfully. Seems like he got the pink out, so he cooled down a lot.

"What's the situation?" X asked no one in particular.

"There are four groups of mavericks flanking the base from the north, southeast, east and northwest. Seems as though our sentries have been eliminated by a sniper. The 3rd, 7th and 21st Units are currently holding the mavericks at bay."

"_Hmm. That's odd... Why would the mavericks flank us on only four sides? And why the odd angles? It doesn't seem right..." _X thought to himself.

"Is that clear, Hunters?" Signas asked the team.

"Aye, sir!" The group responded.

And with that they rushed out of the HQ and into the battle. They had a small talk while they ran through the now empty halls.

"Nice armor X! Where'd you get it?" Locke asked him, eyeing him up and down.

"I got this from Douglass just a few minutes ago."

"Has it been tested yet?! You of all people know what happened to you last time you tried Douglass' new gadgets..." Zero said, directing X's thoughts to the mini explosions from the buster cannons.

"He said that it's tested, plus, I didn't have time to go to the armory to get my other armor."

"Heh, your funeral." Zero smirked.

"All right guys, split up. Stryke and Locke, you take the south and southeast ends, Zero, take the northwest, Leyna and X take the north corridor. The mavericks are knocking at our front door." Alia's voice came over in their earpieces. "And X.....be careful."

"Over and out." X said with a smile. He looked over at the others and they had expressions on their faces that made him blush.

"Come on guys! Grow up!" X said while blushing deeper. Everyone laughed at the blue hunter, except for Locke, who looked rather distraught.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

North Corridor  
Time:  
-07:36-

X and Leyna arrived to see chaos in the mess hall corridor. A stray bullet would have taken Leyna's head off, had she not ducked. X pressed his back against the wall and activated his buster cannon. A face guard materialized around his face. X panicked at first but calmed down as he realized what was happening. Leyna drew her dual pistols and set them on "Concussion". At the same time, they opened fire on the group of mavericks that were closing in. They found a few of the Hunters that were defending the massive hall ducked behind some tables that have been overturned.

"Commander X!!" One of the surviving hunters called out to his superior.

"Get down!" X instructed the reploid as he charged up his cannon to 30 percent. X let loose a rather large plasma shot that sailed toward the opposing group of mavericks with incredible speed. When it hit the first target, electric waves of the plasma spread over a portion of the enemies. Screams of agony faded into nothingness within seconds as the plasma field dissipated. Leyna rose up to observe what had just happened. Instead of seeing pools of maverick internal fluids and broken machine parts, there was a dark spot on the floor where the plasma waves touched. There was no sign of the five or six mavericks caught in the field. No energy signal, nothing.

"_Thank you, Douglass!_" X thought to himself. Suddenly, a lavender flash flew directly at him. With barely enough time to react, X managed to slip him feet from under him and let his body fall back. He placed his hands behind his head towards the ground to avoid a crack in his cranium. Gears in his arms exerted force as he thrust himself up and off of the floor. The damage done? A scratch across his chest plate indicated that some sort of metallic weapon was supposed to end his life. The streak of lavender disappeared down the hall.

X ducked, as mess hall warfare was still continuing as he looked towards the end of the hall. Leyna was blasting away at wall of oncoming mavericks with the determined hunters behind the tables. The large cafeteria would soon be liberated, so X decided to give command to Leyna before he took off after the lavender streak.

"X! What the hell was that?!"

"That was the buster cannon enhancement tha..." He was cut off.

"No! I meant that flash that almost killed you! Are you going after it?" She fired a round of plasma into a maverick's head, blowing it wide open.

"Yes. I want you to take command of the remaining forces. Gather all of the injured, and take them to Kicker when you are done here!"

"Alright! Take care!"

X nodded as he let himself fall backwards again. This time though, he activated his new plasma dash engines. He felt a kick as he thrusted backwards, just inches off of the ground. The battle field ahead of him shrinking as he became a streak of lightning. He shifted his body weight so his body would do a half barrel roll. As he did this, the small metallic wings emitted a pulse and two larger wings grew from the shorter ones. This increased his speed greatly and gave him more mobility. The lavender flash halted in front of an impregnable door and cursed to herself. She turned around and became wide-eyed as dark azure blur was approaching with rapid velocity.

"_Could this really be Megaman X?! No. It can't be him..."_ Echo thought to herself. The blur came to a sudden arrest about ten feet in front of her. Following the azure hunter was a shockwave of swift air. Echo tried to keep her footing as the shockwave hit her, but was thrown back a short distance. X eyed the maverick: she had black hair with silver streaks that fell just past her shoulders, lavender armor with chrome trimming, all over a black jumpsuit. She had a slender form, and stood at a height of about 5'6". Codename, Echo.

"Are you, Megaman X?" Echo asked with fear retreating from her voice. She drew her bladed tonfas, ready to attack in the blink of an eye.

"Maybe. Depends on who wants to know." X spit back, as he readied his own weapon.

The two warriors stood in daunting stances, daring one another to move. Echo smiled as she said, "Target aquired. Intercepting Megaman X."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Southern Entrance and Southeastern Parking Lot  
Time:  
-07:36-

As Locke and Stryke divided from Zero, they arrived at the entrance to the HQ. Tons of searing death flew by their heads as they actively looked for cover. Alcoves set in the walls provided ample cover, so they ducked within one of them. Stryke drew out his concentrated plasma rifle, and rolled into prone position a safe distance from the battle. He searched through the melee of hunters and mavericks for an ample target. He saw a green light flash in his scope. His rifle rumbled as the scope took a blast from the laser, sparing his right eye. He quickly rolled back into the alcove. Locke had already joined the fray. She was an expert in the field of close combat, as her weapons indicated. She owned the only pair of RSB's ever made. That's because she was the only person who would test them. They were gauntlets constructed out of double plated lightweight digisteel, which concealed a micro short range plasma emitter mounted on top of a directional gear. This allowed the blades to lock in one direction or spin around rapidly, creating a saw blade or effective shield. Locke felt a sting on her left thigh while she ran into the fight. She ignored this, as the pain was brief. As she rushed toward a group of mavericks, she activated the blades and set them to "BLADE" mode. With a flash of orange light, three mavericks were sliced in half, blood flowing profusely from them. She looked up as a maverick with heavy armor leapt in the air, attempting to crush her. Locke rolled to the side as the large maverick collided with the floor. She then lunged at its chest with her right blade and penetrated the armor. She smirked as she activated the blade's "SAW" mode. The blade spun around fiercely and she withdrew her hand as the maverick screamed in agony as blood poured from its wound. Her eyes glinted with excitement as life exited the maverick. The mavericks around her stared in horror as they watched their companion twitch in its pool of glowing blood. Locke then proceeded to smash it's head into the floor, silencing it for good. Mavericks and Hunters alike watched with astonishment and fear as she was receiving nothing short of pure ecstasy from her kill. Her eyes were now glowing bright blue, indicating that her EX drive had kicked on. EX drives for reploids were like adrenaline rushes for humans. But, Locke's EX drive had gone into a dangerous mode, which cuts off the regular supplements that make up their blood with pure synthetic EX adrenaline. Now, her eyes were gleaming amber. She had become a threat to everything.

Stryke was still trying to attach his spare scope, when a stray bullet struck him in the shoulder. "Ah! Damn it! To hell with this!" He expressed as he threw the scope to the ground in frustrated gesture. He stood up and took in the sight of Locke going berserk on mavericks and hunters alike.

"NO! LOCKE, STOP!!" Stryke cried at the possessed woman as she continued to rip apart anything that moved. The few remaining mavericks that survived had managed to flee from the hunter. She was now going for hunters. Stryke picked up a nearby plasma casing, and chucked it at Locke, just as she was about to bring her blade down on a fellow hunter. This stopped her in her tracks.

"Locke! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Locke turned her head around slowly to look Stryke right in the eyes. Stryke was frozen with shock, fear and disgust, as he stared at what used to be calm, cool, collected Locke. Her eyes burned fiercely with amber. An evil, no, a _sinister_ smirk was defined on her face. She turned the rest of her body to face Stryke. Almost the entire front side of her was covered in crimson blood. The blood of those she had slain. The ends of her hair were wet with the same life fluid that coated her.

"no..." Stryke whispered to himself. His voice had become rasp with fear, as he desperately tried to turn and get away from this, this _thing_. She marched closer towards his position. Closer. Closer.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Northwestern Level 4 Office Area  
Time:  
-07:47-

It had been about ten minutes since Zero arrived at the office area where he had escaped from last night. Had he known it was going to come under attack by Maverick Diablo tanks, he would have finished that oh-so-important paperwork. A good portion of the opposing foot soldiers had been wiped out, but the tanks posed a bit of a problem. Three tanks in total; two in perfect condition, the third with blown up engines, but it still had all of its fire power. The main cannon, two machine guns, and a short range particle scrambler. This machinery did not daunt Zero. As a matter of fact, it was Zero who was currently destroying the already damaged tank. He drew his Z-Saber and stabbed at where he estimated the cockpit to be. He was rewarded when muffled cries could be heard from within the tank. "Hey! Stop that, you crazed bastard!" One of the voices in the tank yelled at him. "No NO! Shut up!!" Voice two desperately said as he tried to hush the loud mouthed rookie.

"Hmm? Do I hear someone still alive?" Zero said with a smug as he snatched a grenade from the nearby hunter running past him. A loud boom rocked the battlefield, signifying that a tank just exploded. He pulled the pin and forced the explosive into the barrel of the main cannon. He then proceeded to knock on the area the cockpit was in and said, "Happy Birthday!!!", before he dashed a safe distance from the tank. Seconds later, needless to say, the tank exploded. Seconds after that the remaining tank exploded. The hunters celebrated their victory in the ruined office, while Zero received a transmission through his comm link.

'Zero, come in. Report.' Alia's voice came over the transmission.

"Zero reporting. Objective complete. Maverick invasion in the northwestern office area, level 4, has been halted." Zero responded with a dramatically triumphant voice.

'Good job Zero, but don't celebrate yet. We have two problems on our hands as of now.'

"What's the pro..." Zero was cut off as a laser bolt collided with his back, sending a small wave of electricity through his veins. After the short shock, he turned to see who had blind-sided him. He then activated his comm link and spoke to Alia again.

'Zero! What happened?!'

"Alia. Make that three problems."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Whew! A BIG chapter bites the dust! And cliffhangers! Ah, the torture. OK, reviews please! :P


	5. Traitorous Ways

Disclaimer: I. OWN. NOTHIN'!!!! My original characters, I DO own them.

A.N.: I would like to thank Warp Ligia Obscura for his support. Tank U!  
Okay, on with this lengthy chapter.

**Chapter 4: Traitorous Ways**

Southeastern Parking Lot  
Time:  
-07:51-

Stryke breathed heavily as he took refuge behind a blockade of junked hover transports. Snow was falling, meaning that the temperature was extremely low. He struggled to press the button on the side of his energy canteen to pop the lid. Thanks to Locke, he had a deep gash on the right side of his abdomen. His auto-clot systems had stopped the bleeding, but synth nerves that were exposed had not yet been numbed by the anesthesia systems. He cringed as the crystallized water fell onto his open wound. He couldn't believe it. Locke, alone, had cleared out eighty-five percent of the maverick oppression, killed three hunters and wounded six, including Stryke. He took a sip from his energy canteen. In his current state, all he could do was hide from her while his painful wound numbed itself, and keep trying to contact Signas, X, Zero, somebody. This is _not_ how he wanted to die. Not by one of his closest friends. They had been through so much. Combat. Classmates at the MH Academy. Somehow, he had to save her. He had to save Locke from _herself_. He pondered on that thought. If he had tried to knock her out again without her being distracted somehow, he'd end up with another injury. Hopefully, he would become resolute enough to execute a plan. But he was damn scared. Who wouldn't be. He peeked around the corner of the charred transport. No Locke.

Beep. "T-this is Stryke... do you read me, Signas?" He transmitted in near desperation.

'Stryke, what's your situation?'

"I'm wounded sir, actively being hunted by Locke as we speak." He peeked around the corner again. Still no Locke.

He heard Signas curse under his breath. 'Stay put, hunter. Alia is contacting X now. _Do not die_, Stryke.'

"Don't worry a-about that, sir. Stryke, over and out-t."

'Signas, over and out.' Beep. The signal went dead. Stryke felt the anesthesia unit kick in, as he barely cringed when snow found its way to the deep cut. He let out a sigh as he slumped back gingerly against the truck. Then, the sun behind him disappeared for a second, as if it were eclipsed briefly. He looked over his shoulder, searching everything with twitching eyes. Nothing, maybe his visual receptors are responding negatively to the temperature. This was not good. Locke was nowhere in sight for about twelve minutes. Twelve minutes before she went berserk. He took another sip of his energy. Another eclipsing of the sun. He shot his head up, just in time to see Locke about to throttle him. Without thinking, he dove ahead of him, as Locke pounded the ground with her RSBs. Snow flew in every direction, with occasional rocks and pebbles flying amongst them. He stood up and cringed tremendously as he clenched his reopened wound. Blood seeped freely from it, staining his hand. He stumbled as he tried to get away from the demon.

His vision was beginning to blur, due to the lost of blood.

"Locke, no. Y-you can't do this!" He said as his voice started to trembled.

Locke said nothing as she withdrew her blades from the small crater she created. She spun around to face Stryke, who, at the moment, was trying to reach her mind. Her eyes were still burning with amber. An evil grin possessed her once beautiful face. She let out a sinister laugh as she looked at her blood stained hands. As Stryke tried to scuffle away, she jumped into the air and landed in front of the battered reploid with a thud. She kicked him in the chest, sending him toppling over on his back. Extreme pain coursed through him as he saw her brandish her weapons, ready to end his relatively good life. This was it. He couldn't make a move. He squeezed his eyes shut as tears started to flow freely from them.

"Ungh!!" Locke hollered as she was hit with a lethal concussion field, sending her five yards away. Stryke looked up, not expecting to see Megaman X standing over him with a buster cannon that had electricity dancing around the muzzle. His savior looked down at him with a reassuring face, then, turned around to face Locke.

"It's going to be okay, Stryke. We will bring Locke back to us." X said to his comrade. Stryke gave him a weak smile, as his systems went into sleep mode.

Locke stood up, shaking off the effects of the minor concussion field. She looked up and saw X, standing with his cannon aimed at her chest. She then clenched her head and screamed in agony, as her eyes lost their glow for a moment. "Ahh! Uhh, X! St-st-stop me! P-please!" Before X could respond, he saw a red flash appear in the distance. Locke then snapped up stiff, as if she was a marionette. Another scream of agony escaped from her lungs, as she became suspended in the air. Her eyes were once again filled with bright amber.

"_This is much more than an EX overload. She must be infected with a virus, but the Sigma virus doesn't have _these_ kinds of effects."_ X pondered to himself as he charged his cannon. A deep amber aura surrounded Locke as she now flew at him with increasing speed. As X pointed his weapon at Locke, he heard something rattle inside. The same rattle that was heard in Douglass' other cannons was present in the cannon hoisted on X's right arm. Sure enough, it malfunctioned.

Waves of concussive energy pulsed throughout X's body from the mishap of a cannon. A bright flash, and X was down on one knee, gasping for air. Locke was three feet away from him, when a loud thud became audible. Locke froze in mid air while the aura dissipated. Her eyes rolled back as she plopped to the ground, where she lay motionless.

The damaged hilt of the familiar Z-Saber bounced on the ground near X. There stood Zero in the distance in a stance, indicating that he had just thrown said saber. He walked over to X and gave him a hand, helping him off the ground.

"Well, when all else fails..." Zero started.

"...use any means necessary." X finished as he limped over to Stryke, scooping him up.

"Man, I can't _wait _'till the interrogation." Zero said to his friend, as he picked up the now dormant Locke. Though the snow had wiped most of the blood off of her, she reeked of the intense odor. "Damn! She could use a bath, before that though." He said pinching his nose with his free hand as they walked into the destroyed entrance to the building.

A figure on the cliff over the massive battlefield scoped the area where X and Zero were. Zooming in on Locke, he smirked.

"Well, well. Looks like our mission was a success." The mystery man said with a triumphant grin.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

North Corridor  
Time:  
-07:46-

X stared down his newly acquired foe. She was definitely a maverick. But one fact, which made him ponder, was why she was clad in hunter-like armor. Had she stolen it? No the armory was one way...

"DIE!" Echo cried as she lunged at X, attempting to run him through with her blades. X dispersed all thoughts, in order to react to the strike. He quickly scuffled backwards, the blades slicing the air in front of his face. Echo had expected this, and spun around quickly, forcing her right foot into X's chest. As he flew back, the wings automatically deployed as a counter measure to the sudden increase of speed. He slowed to a stop, inches before he hit the wall. Echo activated her dash thrusters and leant forward, determined to smash X through the wall. X drew his hand in his buster and began to charge up a plasma shot. Normally, two seconds didn't seem too long, but it did when you are fighting for your life. Fifty percent is what X managed to charge up to before he had to move, so he used the new "store" function to reserve the energy in the power slot of the arm cannon, and aerial flipped sideways to avoid the charging maverick. Once again, Echo anticipated X, and swung her left tonfa at X. The blade glanced off of his calf, and he was thankful that it did. A sliced calf was not very fun. When he landed, he began to charge the cannon again. Echo wasted no time, sending slash after slash at the azure hunter. X began to stumble as he backed up, trying to avoid losing the concentrated plasma he charged as a result of taking damage. Ninety percent charge. Echo then reared back, arms to either side. X was puzzled by this move as she stopped her melee. Then, with incredible speed, she took a step forward and swung her blades, aimed at his neck. There was a small after image of her when she was preparing to strike. X ducked, spun around on his heel and executed a sweeping maneuver which proved effective, as Echo fell backwards on her back. One-hundred percent. X quickly pointed the cannon at Echo's head from a kneeling position in an attempt to finish this duel. Echo shot a hand out on the cannon, forcing the plasma beam just left of her head. The intense beam tore through the ground, all the way to the foundation. One of her tonfas also vaporized in the process. She grimaced at the plasma particles that stung her face, but still managed to take hold of X's arm. She then pressed her foot into his abdomen and rolled back sending his into a flipping throw. Right into a support beam in the ceiling. X collided with the beam, as it bent to take shape of his form. Echo stood up, rubbing the back of her head.

"Ah! Damn, can't let him fire that cannon anymore." She said to herself as she watched him fall to the ground. Limping over to the unconscious hunter, she drew her blade and hovered over X. "Well, that certainly was a challenge, Megaman X, but it's time to end this!" She hoisted the tonfa above her head and thrusted down towards X's heart. She didn't expect his eyes to shoot open. X held up his arm cannon to let it absorb the blow. The tonfa dug into the thick metal of the buster, but before it could reach X's flesh, the wires and cooling gel layers brought it to a sudden arrest. X then proceed to slam a piece of support beam into her left upper arm with his free hand. Echo screamed out in intense pain as she let go of the tonfa. She writhed in pain as her arm hung in an unnatural manner. X stood up and yanked the tonfa out of his buster as sparks followed. Echo sat down on the ground holding her arm, which was now bruising up. It seems that X was the victor of this fight. He began to set up a S.E.F.(Security Emission Field), to confine the once deadly P.O.W. She attempted to draw a pistol while X had his guard down. He quickly whipped around, slicing the weapon in two with the Z-Saber. She winced as the offensive energy coming from the weapon dared her to make another move. She looked up at X, and eyes read pure disgust and hatred for her. His sharp green eyes piercing through her soul.

"That's enough!!" X yelled at the shocked maverick commander. "You are now a captive of the Maverick Hunters. You shall be detained under our custody until an indefinite date. You will be stripped of any weapons, and/or scanned for any foreign diseases or viruses." X recited the P.O.W. speech to Echo, who at the moment was thoroughly miffed.

Echo let out a low growl as X activated the S.E.F. barrier around her. He stood up and pressed a switch on the side of his helmet, dissipating the face guard. His bottom lip had a little blood on it. She smirked at this, seeing as how the great savior of mankind, many times over, and greatest reploid ever built, was not invincible. She moved to one of the barrier walls surrounding her, and decided to test its mettle. As she foolishly brought a finger to it, wave after cruel wave of pulse energy concentrated at the point where her shattered limb was. She cried out in pain again from the pulsing pressure in her more than fractured arm as she managed to let go. X looked at her with a "tsk tsk" kind of expression.

Beep. "This is Megaman X, do you read me, Alia?"

'X! Thank goodness, are you okay?!'

"I'm fine, Alia. I have a detainee. Send a recovery team over here, on the double."

'Okay. X, Stryke has sent us multiple distress signals. He says something's up with Locke. Maybe it's her EX drive? Anyway, are you sure...'

"I'm _fine_, Alia. I'll go check out the situation."

'....Alright. Sending recovery team. Over and out.'

"Megaman X, over and out." Beep.

"Recovery team? You're so kind, thank you." Echo spat at X, the words dripping with sarcasm.

"Don't be so gracious; if you try anything thing with these guys, they'll do more than just break your bones." X warned her as he was engulfed in a blue light, which then warped into the sky. This was embarrassing; here she is, second in charge of the 13th Maverick Sting Corps, stuck in MHHQ, immobilized by a broken arm. She would never be respected again. Moments later, three beams of gray light flashed into the area.

"Perfect....." She uttered, as the three hunters picked her up with no regard to her injury. "Hey! Watch the arm! Watch the AHHHHH!!!!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Northwest Office Area  
Time:  
-07:46-

'Zero, Stryke has reported that he is being hunted by Locke.'

"What?! I'll be there as soon as I deal with this."

'Zero, who are you confronting?'

"....Scar...."

'Damn! Zero, be careful! He's a powerful hunt...I mean....Maverick. If you can, bring him back. Over and out."

'I know that, Signas. Better than anyone. Over and out.' Beep.

Zero turned to face Scar. Scar was approximately 6'5", wore maverick black armor, which was styled after X and Zero's armor. He was equipped with hyper bladed shurikens. He also wielded an S-Katana. This, like Zero's saber, was a plasma blade type of weapon, but it was only plasma when the user activated the secondary function. Primary function-wise, it was a solid piece of sharpened digisteel.

"Zero, long time, no see. How have you been?" Scar spoke to the crimson hunter.

"...Traitor...." Usually, Zero always has something sharp of tongue to spit back, but he was filled with the raging flames of hatred. And Scar just poured gasoline onto him.

-Flashback-  
Scar had joined the Hunters, three years ago. Why he betrayed them is still a mystery. Zero had Scar in his unit, and soon, Scar became a valued hunter, almost up in the ranks of Zero himself. Then, all of a sudden one day, Scar decided to kill most of the 0th Unit, except for Zero and a few who were on leave. Scar wanted to watch Zero suffer, as he watched Scar eviscerate his teammates. Zero was asleep in a charging capsule in the 0th's private quarters, when a disturbance on the outside woke him. He snapped his eyes open in reaction to the reploid slamming into the capsule. A trail of blood streaked down the front of the digi-glass, as Zero watched in horror. Scar drew his blade and took a fighting stance. The five hunters around him readied their weapons as well. Zero couldn't move, as his motor functions rebooted from the sudden activation. As Storm rushed at the traitor with his daggers, Scar raised his katana in front of him, blade upwards. Storm took a stab at Scar, but went right through him. Bewildered, the illusion of Scar faded, as he felt something cold pass right through him. Storm stood there, in the stance he was in just after he stabbed at Scar, as if he were paralyzed. The others in the room looked around in fear as multiple Scar afterimages appeared scattered across the room. Vincent felt a cold sting as he turned around to look for Scar. He froze. Sami ran and tried to take cover, but as she jumped, she let out a small yelp. Frozen in the air, the remaining hunters stared with a sinking feeling in their guts. Zeal ran at Zero and attempted to press a few buttons on the console. She turned around as gasped. Zero cringed as he saw a linear flash across her mid-section then another one from her head down in half, almost at the exact same time. Neo was now shaking badly, as Scar was still nowhere in physical sight. He closed his eyes, and reopened them only to find Scar at point-blank range. Before he could let out a gasp, was on the other side of him, facing the capsule Zero was in. Scar physically stood in front of Zero as the capsule opened and Zero tumbled out, landing on his hands and knees. Zero looked around as he took in the sight of his team; they were frozen in the positions they were in before Scar struck them with his deadly blade. Scar then struck a pose: standing strait up, turning his body to the wall, then turning his head slowly over his left shoulder to look at Zero. He then extended his blade, in a manner as if he was going to place the blade in the sheathe on his back. He slid the blade down into its case with a moderately slow pace. This is the part of the memory that haunts Zero to his soul: As the hilt of the blade touched the sheathe, Zero heard horrifying shouts of pain around the room. He watched with a sick heart as blood sprayed out from his teammates, just seconds before they suddenly split either in half, or in Zeal's case, into fourths. Zero vomited at the sight of seeing the insides of his comrades, blood pouring profusely from them. Zero looked up at Scar who was wearing a devilish grin. His eyes glowing red.  
-End Flashback-

"I swear I'll never forgive you, you heartless bastard..." These were probably the coldest words that ever escaped Zero's mouth. They were so cold because Zero had said them, and Zero always kept his promises. Without a second thought, Zero dashed at Scar with incredulous speed. He drew his saber, and slashed at Scar, who blocked the attack with equal, if not greater, speed.

"Zero...Whatever happened to 'forgive and forget'"?

Zero let out a ferocious cry as he deactivated the saber, and gave Scar a furious fist across his face. Scar stumbled back a bit as Zero dashed at him, giving Scar a full force shoulder charge to the chest. Zero sat on top of the larger reploid and started giving him a barrage of fists in the face. Zero gritted his teeth as he continued to beat on the black armored reploid. Scar finally caught one of Zero's fists, and swung him back. Zero flipped and landed on his feet as Scar stood up and spit a little blood on the ground. Zero dashed at him with full throttle, saber drawn. Scar activated his plasma blade and deflected his adversary's strikes. He then drew his knee back and rammed it into Zero's side. The crimson reploid let out a cry as he turned in the air. Scar caught his right foot and proceeded to fling him in the direction of some hunters who made up an audience. As he slid to a stop, one of the hunters reached out to help him up. Instead, Zero shot up and eyed Scar with eyes that were glowing intense blue. He shot forward at immense velocity, connecting a fist with Scars chest. The black shadow fell back as the crimson demon drew his saber and viciously stabbed at his head. Scar leant to the side as the incoming blade seared past his face, and embedded into his right shoulder instead. He flinched a bit at the pain before head-butting Zero in the forehead. They both jumped back. Scar held a hand over the large dent in his chest armor, blood leaking out of the large gash in his shoulder. Zero stood there breathing heavily. Scar shot him a grin.

"Heh heh, well done, Zero. You're the first person in a long time who's laid a finger on me, much less cause me pain. It feels good!" Scar said with a wide grin on his face. Zero's eyes returned to normal, ending his EX drive.

"Scar, why did you betray your unit? Why didn't you kill _me _with them?!" Zero questioned the black ninja type maverick. Scar gave Zero another nasty grin.

"Zero, you should know that you _never _stay dead for long. And besides, it was much more fun to torment you instead!" Scar laughed manically as he activated his area warp.

Zero was over flowing with rage at these words. The Z-Saber hilt in his hand snapped as he tightened his fists. Scar waved him a hand, as if saying 'see you later, friend', and bolted out of the office in a beam of dark light. Zero stood there, staring at the spot where Scar was standing. -beep- Scar had caused him the most grief in his entire life, in less than a minute, most of his unit -beep- was killed by a man whom he trusted. No wonder Zero didn't really -beep- trust anyone in the world, unless their name had the letters M-E-G-A-M-A-N-X, and in that specific order. -beepbeepbeep-

Beep. 'Zero, are you alright?' Signas broke through.

"I'm okay, Signas. I wasn't able to defeat Scar, but he _did_ run."

'That's okay, Zero. We have a detainee, so all is not lost. Pursue the...'

"I know, I know. I'm on my way over to Stryke. Zero, over and out." Beep.

Zero turned around and saw that the hunters in the area had formed up into three squads, standing at attention. "Dismissed." He ordered with an exasperated sigh. The platoon responded, and went on with cleaning up the mess in the office. Zero looked down at the broken saber hilt in his hand. With another long sigh, he warped off in a flash of scarlet light.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Medical Hall  
Time:  
-08:39-

Darkness. Nothing but darkness. Her visual feed was out, but her other sensory programs were operational. She remembered being picked up by the recovery team. Then one of the members jarred her broken limb. Intense pain followed that. She proceeded to stomp on his foot to get him to loosen his grip. This resulted in her getting shocked with thermal tazers. Then, she blacked out. Some time later, unsure of how many hours passed, woke up on a cold table. She tried to sit up. No use. Something was binding her to the table. She heard a hiss of air, trailed by digisteel doors sliding open. Multiple footsteps filled the room as she felt the table she was laying on move. It spun around slowly, then suddenly tipped so that she felt like she was standing at a 78 degree angle. The footsteps came to a halt. She listened intensely for any indication as to where she was. She heard voices.

"Did she say what....."

"...she almost took his freakin' head off, man!"

"...saber hilt knocked her out cold..."

"...o way, she looks too pretty to be a maverick." A slapping sound followed that bit of dialogue. _Sounds like a guy..._

"Then Sigmas ordered me..." _Sigma?! Maybe she heard that wrong._

"Anyway, I think she knows something about..."

"...broke my goddamn saber..." _What a baby..._

She tried to place the voices. She knew one of them belonged to Megaman X. Another belonged to the female X was talking to over the comm link. Another female voice, to the one who was attacking with X. The rest were a mystery. Echo gasped as she felt a tug on her face. Then strong light poured into her eyes. She had been blindfolded. As her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, she looked around, examining where the hell she was.

The walls where steel blue, bright lights overhead, shiny floors. X, Zero, Stryke, Alia, Locke, Leyna, Kicker and Signas, all crowded around her. Yep, she had become a detainee of the Maverick Hunters.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hmmm.... Quiet a chapter eh? Do you like? Please let me know. How are the characters turning out? All reviews are welcome. Yes, even flames, for I own a Flame Buster 22XX shield:P Until next update! Cya!


	6. New Beginnings

Disclaimer: I don't own Megaman X. _Capcom _owns Megaman X.

**  
Chapter 5: New Beginnings **

Maverick Outpost Orion  
Time:  
-10:57-

A battered Scar arrived at Maverick Outpost Orion, a large base in the shape of a semi sphere, composed of black steel. Although not nearly as big as MHHQ, the Mavericks had four bases of equal size; Orion, Delta, Omega, and Sigma. And these four bases contained the twenty maverick divisions, Scar belonging to the 13th. He made his trek to the entrance, limping the way there. Heh, Zero had certainly developed ill feelings towards him. But in the back of his mind, he terribly regrets ever doing that in the first place. He was about three yards from the entrance, but was stopped by two rookies on duty. Unexpectantly, a shot grazed the snow, right by his foot. Scar snapped his head up in reaction with a deadly glare in his eyes.

"Halt! Who goes there?!" One of the rookies shouted out, his weapon aimed at Scar. The other rookie's trigger hand was trembling slightly; this greatly worried Scar as he thought about how his life could end by a couple of dumb rookies that shot up their commanding officer. Scar took a short breath, and shouted back at the inexperienced guards.

"Commander Scar of the 13th Maverick Sting Corps!!"

"There is no Commander Scarf on this base!!"

Scar nearly faceplanted, but his shoulder would punish him if he chose to do so. Instead, he fished out his P.I.D. (Personal Information Device), and got ready to toss it at the guards, but decided against it, as he didn't feel like becoming Swiss cheese from shots by the shaking newbie. He told one of the guards to come check his P.I.D. The lowest ranking of the two stepped forward nervously towards Scar, his legs quivering as he did so. Scar urged not to make a move, since the rookie would probably shoot anything that moved right about now. The slow, frightened maverick checked the picture of the P.I.D. and a pit formed in his stomach. He gave the device back to Scar, who was staring holes through the rookie, and turned around to tell the other uptight sentry to let their commander pass.

"Well, boys, have fun out here for the next week." Scar said, miffed that his own unit didn't recognize him. The rookies gasped at this, and began to whine while the outpost doors closed behind Scar.

Scar headed down to the elevator to reach the main hall of the elaborate outpost. The interior of the entire hall gave off an emerald hue. The main hall was lined with luscious vegetation. Different species of flowers and many varieties of green leaved plants grew around the walls. Even a few hybrids were beginning to bloom amongst the many plants. One would never expect this exotic wonder to be a hall in a maverick outpost. Scar walked past the many reploids that littered the massive hall, most of who that were either conversing, or hurriedly pushing past the enormous flood of mavericks. Scar was one of the latter, as he turned and shifted his body to avoid banging his throbbing shoulder. The elevator was in reach, but the closer he got to his goal, the greater the flood and commotion increased. In his condition, he compared this situation as being in a vast ocean, with buoys and debris everywhere, while trying to swim to the elevator, his lifeboat. He made it to the elevator, only bumping his agonized shoulder twice. Punching in the numbers to the floor his room was on, he closed his eyes and thought about what had happened in the past few hours.

_Okay. Let's go over the details:  
1.) Infiltration of MHHQ- Accomplished.  
2.) Special prototype rifle field tested- Accomplished.  
3.) Substance deployed upon targets- Inconclusive.  
4.) Minimize casualties and capture of commanding officers- Failed (Echo...)  
5.) Overall mission status- Complete._

"Echo. Wonder how she's holding up..." Scar was a little worried about his missing comrade. "She's a strong girl, she'll be alright." He dismissed this thought as the lift stopped at the third floor, where the 11th through 15th Maverick Corps where roomed. The heavy doors slid open. As Scar stepped out of the lift, he was bum rushed by the entire 13th. Nearly knocking him down, he twisted his upper body, trying to avoid further damage to his aching injury. They bombarded him with questions like, "Commander! Was the mission a success?!" "Commander, are you ok?!?!" "Commander, where's Lt. Commander Echo?" Scar shrugged them off, as he pushed past the seemingly increasing crowd. Rookies. Can't live with them, can't.... live with them. Scar finally made it to his room, now he had to punch in his room code. He reached a finger out and made contact. '3' '6' '7' He had to fight off a couple of questioners to press the last two digits. '4' '2'. The door slid open, and he nearly dove into the room. He quickly closed the door. With a sigh, he started to remove the damaged armor. The crowd outside had gone away, and Scar was thankful for that. He didn't need anymore stress right now. He gingerly removed the shoulder guards. He had a puncture in his shoulder, as he expected, but the blood had clotted it up. He took off the boots, helmet and gauntlets and sighed as his appendages finally got air to them. He walked over to the capsule sitting in the corner and started it up. He typed in a few things.

SYSTEM START  
TYPE OF MAINTENANCE?

1.RECHARGE  
2.REPAIR  
3.REPAIR & RECHARGE

'3'

OPTION 3 COMPLETE IN 4:00 HOURS. DO YOU ACCEPT?  
1. YES  
2. NO

'1'

PLEASE WAIT...

Scar pulled off his sword, hip and chest armor, which had a crack in it from Zero's earlier shoulder charge. He winced in pain as the armor dislodged from his body and fell to the floor with a clatter. He unzipped the upper half of his stormy gray jumpsuit and lightly touched his aching sternum. His chest had a dark blue bruise, and rose up a little bit. He zipped the suit back up and glanced at the control board on the capsule.

ACTIVATION SUCCESSFUL. PLEASE STEP INSIDE THE CAPSULE.

He looked at the clock on the capsule: 11:14. Okay. He shut off the lights, and the room drowned in the blue light that emitted from the capsule. He lazily climbed into the cushioned bed of the capsule and strapped the air mask on to his face. The lid slowly closed and locked in place, as the capsule shifted and rearranged itself upright, at an angle of 60 degrees from the floor. A tank full of warm recharging fluid emptied, and filled the capsule, starting from the bottom. Soon, Scar was submerged in the clear liquid. He closed his eyes and shutdown his systems.

His eyes snapped open and he was confronted by Orion, the 2nd Supreme Commander of the Maverick Forces. Rayne was locked up in the corner next to him. Scar tried to get up, but was unable to move from underneath an imaginary force pinning him down. Orion knelt down in front of Scar and placed an electronic device in front of him. Scar gasped. This was the object he was supposed to get from Orion after the mission. It was within reach, but he could do naught but watch, as Orion crushed it under his heel. Scar cried out in horror as Orion twisted his heel, making sure he destroyed the object. Scar turned his head to Rayne, who was looking at him with distraught eyes, filled with deep emotion. An eerie energy sphere appeared around her as she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing but air escaped from her mouth. Tears began to stream down her face as the sphere around her glowed red. She shut her eyes and Scar tried to scream her name, but only a whisper escaped. A blue explosion occurred in the sphere, and Scar could hear her scream out in pain for a moment. When the smoke cleared, she remained there, but her eyes were dark, and lifeless. Scar couldn't believe it. She was gone. Her soul, destroyed.

"SCAR!!" A voice on the outside shouted. Scar snapped his eyes open again. This time, he was in his quarters, inside the capsule. Staring in at him, Rayne stared at him with a quivering lip. The fluid had already drained, so he wasted no time opening the door to see what was wrong with her. He snatched the mask off and climbed out in a hurry.

"What wrong?!" Scar said hurriedly. Rayne burst into laughter at her friend, as he stood there, dripping wet, his jet black hair sopping in his eyes. He was confused at her laughter as questioned her why he being laughed at.

"You...shoulda....seen the.....look.....on your face!!" Rayne fell over on the floor, laughing out loud. Scar faceplanted, he did so this time because he was devoid of shoulder pain. When he got up, he grabbed a towel, and dried himself off. Rayne was about 5'6", and had nearly all the same features that Echo had, except that Rayne had silver hair with black streaks. They _were_ twins, after all.

"So, Rayne, what did you want?" He asked coolly. He would have bitten anybody else's head off if they had pulled that stunt, but Rayne and Echo were his best friends, maybe his only friends, and that's why they were able to get away with things that others couldn't. She recomposed herself and cleared her throat.

"Um, oh yea! Orion summoned a meeting, something about a secret project that would end the war once and for all. It starts at 16:00 in the Assembly Hall." He glanced at the clock: 15:03. He sighed, and went for an energy drink from his mini fridge. "Alright, I'll be there!" He said with a grin. He only really smiles twice in his life: when he's against an enemy, and when he's around Echo and Rayne. She flashed him a smile, and went out the door. He continued staring at her, even though the door was long shut. He snapped out of the daze when the cold energy drink spilled onto his bare feet. He sighed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Assembly Hall  
Time:  
-15:55-

Scar walked into the bustling assembly hall. The place was crawling with mavericks, conversing about various things. He looked around for his unit, but got distracted when he heard the 11th Strike Corps talking about the search. He halted his search and listened.

"Hey, did you hear about the attack today?" _'Here we go...'_

"Yeah, the strike that led the attack against the Hunters? I heard that the mission failed." _'We didn't fail, stupid rookie...'_

"I dunno, they completed their main objectives, but I heard that they lost Lt. Echo." _'...'_

"She's probably dead, ya know those damn hunters." _'She's not dead! ....she _can't_ be dead...'_

"Hey! Scar! Over here!"

Scar looked up at where the voice was coming from. He spotted Rayne, waving her hand over her head. He rushed over to his seat, where the 13th sat. There was Scar, Rayne, Echo's seat was empty, Storm, and Blue. Blue was mysterious, partly because had just joined the mavericks recently, partly because he almost never speaks. Still, his most recognizable feature was the silver eyepatch that he wore. A booming sound was heard over the room from the front. The room silenced. Orion now had the floor. Orion was a menacing looking reploid. He stood at around 7'3", deep blue, almost black, armor with a silver crest on his chest. The stature of this maverick was massive; some say that he isn't a reploid or an android, more like a _steroid_. For weapons, he carried a large energy cannon. This particular weapon drew energy from S.E.T.'s (Satellite Energy Transmitter) in orbit around Earth. When activated, they draw in planetary waves and send them to the cannon's energy banks. It is a slow process, but the result is devastating. The large maverick started with a speech.

"Fellow reploids! I thank you for being able to break away from your busy tasks: office work, field duty, chow time. You know as well as I do, when the late Commander Sigma was retired, so was the Maverick Virus. Even though we have made many attempts to make peace with the Hunters, they continue to label us Mavericks! Today's strike, led by Captain Scar, was but one of many that will occur as we continue our struggle for peace!!" Orion gestured towards Scar and the 13th. Scar stood up and his unit followed suit. The reploids raised fists in the air and cheered loudly. "YAH! HOOWAHH!!" The stimulated reploids shouted. Rayne and Storm wore grins about as big as their heads swelled. Blue showed a smirk, while Scar showed no emotion, as his arms were crossed. Orion motioned them to they their seats, and the roaring crowd became docile. He continued.

"Thanks to the 13th, we have tested the prototype sniper rifle, along with a new chemical agent that will be developed and ready for Project Scramble. Yes, the rumors are true: a new prototype weapon is currently under development that will aid us in our fight against the Hunters! With this newfound technology, I am certain that we will be victorious!"

Another uproar of adrenaline pulsed through the room, some of the reploids' eyes were glowing faint blue. They hushed up and Orion concluded the meeting.

"That concludes this assembly. From now on, we will now call ourselves 'Hunter Erasers!' Take the day off. Rest up, unwind. Dismissed!"

"AYE, SIR!" The crowd of pumped Erasers shouted, as they left the assembly hall. Scar got up and gave a small yawn, still feeling the effects from the recharging capsule. Rayne stood up and stretched out, groaning while doing so. Blue was already gone, and Storm was conversing with other Erasers. Scar waited for her, and they prepared to walk out. A voice popped up in his conscience.

'_Scar, step into my office, if you would. I would like to discuss some matters with you.'_

"_...Is it about the deal?"_

'_Yes, in ways...'_

"_........."_

'_Scar?'_

"_Okay. I'll be there."_

Scar opened his eyes and looked over at Rayne, who was currently daydreaming. He then looked back at Orion, who wasn't there.

"Hey, Rayne."

"Hmm? What's up?"

"I gotta go see what Orion wants. I'll be back in a moment."

"Oh, okay. Guess I'll catch you later, then?"

Scar nodded and gave her a hidden smile, then he ran off to go see what the steroid wanted to _discuss._ He slowed his jog to a walk and started thinking about his dream. Like, why was Rayne involved?

'_Because she's part of the deal, Scar. Collateral, if you will.'_

"_!"_

"_Orion, what's the meaning of these nightmares? You must know, since you planted that chip on me..."_

'_All will be explained very soon, Scar. Oh, and watch out for that wall.'_

"_Huh?"_

Scar looked up, just in time to save himself from a collision with the mentioned wall. He rounded the corner and headed through the door to Orion's office. He took a seat in a comfortable, office like chair. He crossed his arms over his chest, and sighed heavily. Orion turned around in the large chair across from his desk. In his hand, he held a small, square shaped device. He held it up to show Scar, who in return raised a puzzled eyebrow. He then crushed the device. Scar felt a sharp sting in the back of his head. He reached behind his head and caught a similar looking device like the one Orion just destroyed. Confused, he looked up at Orion.

"That, my friend, is the device that allowed me to connect to your brain waves. You know, my voice in your head?"

"....Why did you do that?" Scar asked his daunting commander.

Orion stood up. "Because it is not needed anymore. You completed your mission, and this is part of your reward. Half of it to be exact. Now, to complete this deal, you'll have to complete another mission. Scar scoffed at this. _Another_ mission?! But it was all for a good cause, and he _couldn't _live with himself if he let this slip through his fingers. He had no choice. Scar snapped his head up when Echo popped up.

"Sir, should I arrange a rescue team to get Lt. Commander Echo out of the Hunter's grip?" Scar asked his CO.

"Hmm, Echo, huh? Negative, we need to conserve our forces."

"(_Damn it! Regardless, I'm still gonna go, even if I have to do it alone..._)_"_

"And Scar, _don't _attempt to go against my command. It could have _dire_ consequences."

"(_Damn!_)....Understood, sir."

"You are dismissed."

And with that Scar walked out of the office. Moments later, he arrived at his room. He slammed the door with fiery rage. Sounds of objects being broken are heard from within.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MHHQ Interrogation Room  
Time:  
-11:33-

Signas was getting pissed. This interrogation was going nowhere. He had tried everything he could think of: asking nicely, demanding with force, threatening; nothing worked. Echo was just too sharp of tongue for Signas. He gave up, and stormed out of the room. He muttered under his breath. Something about 'not being an old, outdated computer'. She snickered to herself as he walked out. But she didn't quite know what to expect next, this _was _the first time she had ever been detained. She flinched a bit when the doors unexpectedly shot open. X stepped through the doors to try his hand at this interrogation. He sighed as he sat down. He placed his elbows on the table, folded his hands under his chin and began to stare at her. She sat upright from her slouching position and returned his stare.

"Alright, you wanna start by telling me why we were attacked earlier?" X broke the silence.

"Hmm, X. It's probably because we don't like you, ya know? Somewhere 'round that general area." Echo returned coolly.

"I think that there's more to it than that, Echo. One of our hunters had a violent reaction to her own EX drive. You _must _be connected in some way." X asked accusingly.

"I dunno, maybe it's that time of the month for her?" Echo said with a chuckle in her voice.

"What?! Ugh, stop playin' around! This is NOT a laughing matter!" X spat out at the female reploid.

"But you know what is funny? The way you blush around that chick, what's her name, Alia? Jeez, you act like you've never been around women before. As much as you hang around Zero, you sure don't act like him..." She rued the last sentence that flew out of her mouth and into X's ears. With a grin, he got up and headed towards the door.

"Be right back." X said with a calm, but firm, voice. She felt disturbed at the tone of his voice, as if X were planning something. As he walked out of the door, Echo got up and pressed her ear to the door, straining to hear some sort of commotion. Nothing. The super dense digisteel door absorbed all sound. She ignored this, as she continued to listen for what didn't seem to exist. The door she was leaning on suddenly slid open, and she fell forward. Expecting to hit the ground, she was quite surprised when she fell into the arms of Zero. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He looked down at her with an expression that said 'what in the hell are you doing?' She jumped out of his arms and headed over to her seat. He stepped inside the door and leaned on the nearby wall. He crossed his arms and gave her a grin. "So, _maverick_, how ya been holdin' up?" Zero started smugly, knowing that he would strike a nerve.

"You know I'm not a maverick!" Echo said defensively.

"Heh, if you ain't maverick, then why did you join the maverick forces?"

"They're not mavericks either! We've been trying to tell you bastards that for years! But you'd rather respond with weapons instead of words!"

"You didn't answer my question. Why did you join them, knowing that they are labeled as mavericks?" Zero pulled out a list from his pocket and opened it.

"Because, well. Um...." Echo struggled for the right words.

".....is a maverick, check." He put a check next to an item on the list. "Next question. Why did one of our hunters go berserk today from an E.X. overload, and who is your commanding officer?"

"Wait a minute. Why do you keep calling me a maverick?! You saw the test results! I'm clean, no virus!" Echo told a distant Zero. He smiled at her steamed temper. "HEY! Are you even listening?!"

"Look, _maverick_, if I don't get some answers, I might just have to destroy this..." Zero said in a singsong type of voice. He held up a gleaming pendant. Echo gasped heavily as she searched her person for the missing jewelry.

"How the hell did you get that?!" She said, pointing a furious finger at him.

"Remember when you fell on me not too long ago? Well, this little thingamajig was just begging me to take it." He said, as he twirled it around, watching Echo as she was hypnotized by it.

"You.dirty.bastard...." Her voice trailed off. She lunged at it, but Zero quickly sidestepped, leaving a foot in her path. She stumbled, and fell on her arms. Zero knelt down and dangled the pendant in front of her face. He activated his saber in 'dagger' mode, and placed it near the shining gem. Her face froze in horror.

"Now, I think you need to do some talkin'!" Zero said with a triumphant voice. Echo was making weird sounds in the back of her throat. Zero inched the dagger closer.

"WAAHHH!! OKAY!! I'LL TALK!!" Echo exasperated woefully. She knew that she would regret this later.

"Alrighty then! Start talkin'." Zero said cheerfully, then switching into a firm voice halfway through.

Echo sighed heavily. "We were testing a new sniper rifle, along with a prototype chemical agent. X was our original target, but as you can see, that other girl proved to be a suitable guinea pig as well." Zero frowned a little. It disturbed him that X was a target, but a prototype chemical agent? This is much more serious than anyone thought.

"Ok, that might explain why she rebelled against her own E.X. drive. Now, who's your CO?"

"Heh, I don't think you really wanna know who _that _is..." Zero growled as he closed the distance between pendant and plasma.

"Yes, I _do_." He said with a glare in his eyes.

"....Scar....is my commander." Zero's face remained serious, as if he expected his name to come from her mouth. Maybe he could get Echo to squeal about Scars weak point. He shut off the saber and dropped the pendant, which Echo stretched out to grab. Then a thought ran into her head. Zero stood up and folded up the paper he had written on. Echo snatched it from his hands to see if he had written 'Maverick' all over it. She was confused as the paper was blank, except for a very poorly scribed 'Zero is the best' that ran across the length of it.

"Zero, has anyone ever told you that you write like a little kid?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a total loser? Well, what's your plan now? I know you can't go back to the Outpost, cause you told on them, _right_?" Echo's stomach dropped into the pits of abyss. "You could go back, but then, don't you think that dying would be a better option? Now you don't belong anywhere. They'd either fire you, or lock you up for treason. Think about it."

"Damn..." Echo hung her head, knowing that she defeated herself.

"Well, looks like I win. Let's get you back to your room!" Zero's expression turned gleeful. He opened the door and gestured for her leave first. The lights clicked off, and the door slammed shut.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Medical R&D  
Time:  
-15:47-

A holocom screen with Locke's diagnostics and medical history dominated Kicker's holocom monitor.

SUBJECT: LOCKE NEONITE  
RACE: REPLOID  
GENDER: FEMALE  
HEIGHT: 5'7"  
WEIGHT: 190 LBS  
ACTIVATION AGE: 5 YEARS  
PHYSICAL APPERANCE AGE: 18 YEARS  
LAST VIRUS DETECTED: UNKNOWN

"Hmm...." Kicker sat back in his chair and propped his feet on the table. He pondered about the substance found in Locke's E.X. Drive. "It was definitely a manmade bug. The Sigma Virus has been gone for a long time, so _it's_ not connected in any way. It invades the E.X. Drive and takes total control over it, causing a massive uninterrupted flow of E.X. adrenaline to flood the circulatory veins." A distraught looking Locke walked into the Medical R&D Lab. She's been through a lot. Poor girl. Whatever, _who_ever did this to her, would surely get what was coming to them. She walked without pride; as if lead shackles were chained to her feet. Kicker looked at her with a face of sorrow, and rage. Rage, because he felt as if he was responsible for part of her condition. If he had been quicker, just a second faster, they might have been able to save her E.X. Drive. She would still be able to get another one installed, but it would take some time for her systems to get used to it. It's just like breaking in a new pair of shoes; only thousands of times longer. She made her way over to Kicker.

"Hey there, Locke. How ya feelin'?" Kicker asked concernedly.

"I'm fine." Locke said, her voice cracking a little. She gave him the best smile she could conjure up. "Um, do....you...think that...I'll be.....alright??" She asked him, as the smile started to fade.

Kicker cleared his throat. "Yea, everything is gonna be just fine. We had to remove your E.X. Drive because it was heavily damaged due to the mystery substance. If you want, and _only_ if you want, we can build you a new drive, but it can take a while for it to integrate with your systems. It could take up to seven months. But that's _only _if you want to go through with it."

"I'll pass on that for now..." Locke said distantly. Thoughts of the blood of the hunters she bathed in earlier haunted her mind. The screams of terror. The corpses. She would never be able to forgive herself. "Hey, I'm gonna go rest up. I'll see ya later, Kicker." He nodded, and she walked out of the door.

Locke was miserable. She could think of nothing but what had happened earlier. She remembered seeing Stryke, and trying to stop herself from pouncing on him. That was it; she had to see how he was doing. Would he disown her as a friend; be terrified of her for the remainder of his life? She couldn't handle that. She walked past her room, down the hall and took a left. Stryke had just turned the lights off and was about to climb into his capsule when a soft knock was heard at his door. He grumbled as he flicked the lights back on and opened his door.

"Hey? What's up?"

She placed a hand over her mouth and gasped. Stryke looked okay; he had a large bandage placed around his mid-section. A few bandages were on his face, covering a few scrapes and cuts. She thought he would be damaged far greater than he is. She thought his face would be cold and empty. Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Locke? What's wrong?" Stryke asked his miserable partner. Tears started to flow freely from her eyes now.

"Oh, Stryke!" She hugged him tightly, while she buried her head into his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Locke..." Stryke hugged her close to him.

"Oh my god! Stryke, I'm so sorry! I didn't...I..." She choked out in between sobs. She looked up at him with puffy eyes. Tears were now streaming down her face like a river of sorrow.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, Locke. It's not your fault. Besides, I'm fine." Stryke said trying to console the grief stricken girl. He had never seen her break down like this before. She had quieted down some, but her shoulders still jumped a little.

"T-then, you...forgive me?"

"Yes, of course I do." He said as he led her to her room. He also began to develop watery sadness in his eyes.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Navigator/Intel Sector  
Time:  
-22:44-

Alia yawned with heavy fatigue as she walked into the Navigation room. She spotted X on the far end of the room, furiously scanning the holocom screen full of combat data. She strode over to him and peeked over his shoulder. X didn't even notice her. He continued to search every piece of data on the screen for the reason why the perimeter sentries went down so suddenly. But he did this for about five minutes. Alia placed a hand on his shoulder, not expecting any kind of reaction. "Hey!" X nearly rebooted himself twice in forty-eight hours. He turned around to see a drained looking Alia staring at him.

"Alia! Whew, what'd you do that for??" X out-of-breathly asked the blonde. She smiled as X stood up.

"Do what? Wake you up so you would drool all over my holocom?"

"I wasn't -yawn- sleeping. Just looking for reasons why sentry's disappeared veggie soup detainee..." X said, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Riight. Anyway, I think you need some sleep X. I'm serious, you're about to shut off automatically if you don't -yawn- get some sleep." Alia said as she fell backwards. She would have collided with the ground if X had not grabbed her flailing arms and pulled her up.

"Nah, you need it more. I'll sleep later." X said nonchalantly.

"Oh no, X. _You _need it more than I do." Alia retaliated.

"No I don't"

"Yea ya do."

"No I don't"

"Yea ya do."

The other navigators in the room had stopped what they were doing, just to see where this thing was going. They bicker like they're married sometimes. Relief came in to take they're positions, but they wouldn't leave until the quarrelling duo had resolved.

"No I don't"

"Yea ya do."

"I think _both_ of you need some sleep."

"!"

"!"

Signas glared at the two. They looked as if they were ready to collapse at any given moment. "Seriously, you two work yourselves to death. _Every day_. Tomorrow, I want you to take the day off."

"But, Signas, what about the mav..." X and Alia started but Signas shook his head, cutting them off.

"Don't worry about it. The mavericks don't have enough resources to rebuild their front lines just yet. Besides, you won't be missing out on anything. We _want _you to take a break. Go out somewhere, have fun. You two need some time together." Signas said the last part of that sentence with a smirk on his face. X and Alia stood there with gaping mouths. Snickering was heard around the perimeter of the room. Alia quickly walked out of the room, followed by X. Commotion filled the room moments later.

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???????  
Time:  
-00:32-

A dark figure peered around the corner. Clear. It dashed down the pitch black halls of the massive head quarters. Rookies were so easy to fool. "I'm just going to the bathroom, I'll be right back." The figure said to itself with a chuckle. Another corner made its way into view. The shadowed figure stopped and peered around the corner. Someone was coming. She ducked down with her back to the wall to keep a low profile. The tall reploid turned the corner then stopped. She held her breath as the tall figure looked over its shoulder. It shrugged and continued on its path down the dark corridor. She sighed silently and stood up to continue her unknown path. She eventually reached a door of some kind. Looks like it has handprint security. She stood there, pondering what she could do to open this door with a hitch. A hand was pressed on the scanner to the left of her. She froze, for she knew that if this hand belonged to who she thought it did, she would be in a world of shit. She spun around on her heels to face a smug maverick hunter.

"Whatcha doin', buuuuuddy?" Zero asked the shocked Echo. "So, you decided to take a little tour of the base, eh? How nice of you to return to your room!" Echo looked confused as she turned around and looked through the now open doors. There, she saw the panicking rookie flailing around, along with her ever-so-nice holding room. She damned herself for sneaking around in a complete circle. Zero gestured her to her room, and she dragged her feet to it in response. She turned around.

"Zero!"

"Hmm? What's up?"

"......I....I wanna be a hunter."

Zero chuckled a little at this. He looked down at Echo's face. She was dead serious.

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-Big breath- OK! Man, this chapter was WAY longer than I expected it to be. (That's the reason why the update took so long!) Sorry bout that! Anyway, I recently rented Megaman X8(love it by the way) and found out that it has a subtitle called "Paradise Lost" Just to let you know, the two titles are completely coincidental. This story takes place before X8 and after X7. Well, please give me your input, good and bad, as they inspire me to write. Many thanx to those of you who took time to review my fic! 'Till next time!


	7. Arcadia pt I

Disclaimer: Hey, Happy New Year! Thanx to all that reviewed my story so far, and hopefully, things will start to heat up. Well, let's get started, shall we?

**Chapter 6: Arcadia pt. I**

MHHQ Living Quarters  
Time:  
-07:45-

X woke up to a blaring alarm clock. Normally, this would be quite a task, but he hadn't been able to get much rest, due to yesterday's events. So much had happened in twenty-four hours; various parts of the headquarters were destroyed, sentry guards vanished without a trace, and Locke, a New Gen. reploid, blowing out her E.X. The whole thing had Sigma written all over it. But when he's around, so is the Maverick Virus, and it's been gone for a great deal of time. It seems like everyone has disregarded the fact that Sigma could have some part in this....except for X, that is. He couldn't shake the feeling that Sigma would return sometime soon, as he did in the past. Again, and again, and again. But still, somehow, all of this didn't add up. He felt something _big _was about to happen. He wasted no time as he got up and brushed his teeth. The lights in his room were set to detection, so as soon as a medium amount of motion was made, they buzzed on. He switched on the T.V. in the corner of the room to the news.

'And in regional news, another mass of destructive hurricanes and tsunamis have washed over the southwestern parts of Neo Tokyo, totaling a number of 1,405 deaths in DenTec District, 653 in Ugomishi Capital, 456 in ....'

"Damn, another storm system? This doesn't make sense; that's seven this week!" X garbled out as he turned the T.V. off and spat the toothpaste in the sink. He slipped into his uniform and headed for the door. He thought about Alia, as he was supposed to take her out today, but they decided to put it on hold until things around HQ ran a little bit smoother. He sighed as he shut off the light and moved towards the door. It slid open and X was surprised to see Signas standing there, as if he was waiting to escort him someplace. X snapped to attention before his commander and saluted.

"Good morning, sir." X said stiffly. Signas returned his salute with a sigh.

"X, I thought I told you to take the day off?" Signas said with slight annoyance in his voice.

"Well, yes sir, you did, but..." X was cut off when Signas held up a finger.

"No, _no_. X, we can handle anything that pops up. Plus, Zero said he could help spot for the 17th, other navigators are currently looking over the data from yesterday, Locke is doing fine, and that detainee you captured has agreed to our terms. _Everything is covered_. You are not needed around here twenty-four seven. You _or _Alia."

X leaned to the side and spotted Alia standing behind Signas dressed in civilian clothing with a look of defeat on her face. She gave him a smile and nodded as if telling him say 'Yes' or else. He thought his vision was awry when she seemed a little distorted.

"Signas, there's no way that we could just take a break fr..."

"I thought you would say something like that. X, if you don't comply, then I have no choice but to stick you with Zero all day today." X shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind."

"Okay, but I feel that I should let you know that he's been _very _annoying today."

"He's always annoying." Signas sighed. Something moved ever so slightly in the corner of X's eye.

"Okay, X, I was really hoping it didn't come to this." Signas made a gesture as the entire 17th and 0th suddenly materialized around him in a semi circle. Among them were Stryke, Leyna, Locke, and Kicker. X gasped as he stepped back towards his room, but bumped into something soft. He spun around and faced the one and only, annoying as hell, crimson demon himself. Yep, no way he was getting out of not taking this day off. He held up his hands in a mock surrender and turned to face Signas.

"Heh heh. 'Always annoying', huh?" Zero said under his breath.

"Sorry bout this, X, but it's for your own good!" Locke perked up. X shot her his best evil eye, but failed as a smile crept up on his face. He looked at Alia who only said...

"Told ya so!"

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Outpost Orion  
Time:  
-08:02-

Rayne knocked on the door gingerly. She waited for a few minutes for an answer. "............" No answer. She sighed as she knocked on the door again, for the 195th time. Results were yielded as Scar's door shot open. She nearly fell inside, not expecting the door to shoot open without an answer. She caught her balance and looked up at Scar, who looks like he was just activated.

"Hmm...? What's up -yawn- Rayne?"

"Oh, um. I just wanted to drop by and say "Hi" and..." She turned her head to hide a blush.

Scar raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Uh-oh; she lost her nerve. After hours upon hours of preparing, she goes and loses her nerve. She leant to the side to look past him, and found a loophole.

"And....are...you done breaking stuff?" She added in, hoping that he would not pry for the real question. Scar looked at her blankly then turned around. The room was a mess; books were thrown around, some ripped, others destroyed, dents and cracks riddled the wall where said books were thrown, three of the four lights were busted, and the inside of the front door was heavily dented. He turned back around and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, I'm done!" He said as he scratched the back of his head. She sighed as she quickly turned around and headed down the hall, going somewhere. Scar was lost on this fact; he knew not why she had been acting strange recently. He decided he would ask her later on.

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MHHQ- Southeastern Parking Lot  
Time:  
-09:56-

X and Alia walked towards a hover car, both with miffed expressions and stiff strides. Behind them, the entire 17th was diligently following them. Although you couldn't see them, the 0th was in the front of them, leaving odd footprints in the snow. Zero decided that they needed to play with, um, _test_ Douglass' new gadget for a little while longer. A familiar shout was heard, followed by a plop. X looked down to see a Zero shaped body print in the snow. He sighed and kicked at the print, hitting Zero in the stomach in the process. Zero wailed out in mock pain as Alia stepped over the howling lump that wasn't there. They climbed in and X hurried to start the engine. He slid the ignition card down the slot in the center of the dashboard, and the hover car hummed to life. X wasted no time, as he sped out of the parking lot and onto the street leading away from MHHQ. He sighed as they rode into the city of Arcadia. Just then, Zero popped into sight, sprawled out on the windshield.

"X!! TURN LEFT!!" Zero shouted as X responded almost immediately. Zero flipped over and grabbed the windshield wipers, hoping that he wouldn't fly off in the process. Turning left caused them to nearly miss a light pole. He looked inside and saw a broken down looking Alia, sunk into the back of her seat. She was giving Zero a stare that said, 'I'm gonna hurt you in your sleep.' Zero grinned before shrieking out for X to stop. X ignored him as Zero made his way over towards him. "X! RIGHT!" X turned not a second too soon. In the rear view mirror, he saw what looked like a three-car pile up. He heard Zero stick something on the side of his door.

"Here, take this along just in case!" X rolled down his window and grabbed his communicator. How Zero got his hands on it was oblivious to him, but he took it nonetheless. With that, Zero gave them a thumb's up. He continued to stand up on the hood, and jump off the hover car back towards the HQ. X smiled as he rolled the window up. At least _somebody_ was thinking about the current events. He faced Alia, who was taking in large amounts of air.

"X...Zero...car...almost...Zero...CRASHED..."

X laughed out loud, as he couldn't hold it in any longer. She punched him in the arm playfully, which caused the car to swerve briefly into the opposite lane.

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Downtown Arcadia  
Time:  
-11:48-

X and Alia walked down the snow covered sidewalks of Downtown Arcadia. Arcadia is a part of Neo Tokyo City that most believe is the most technologically advanced area on Neo Earth. The streets were lined with stores, upon stores, upon stores. X had promised to take her shopping one day when they had corresponding off-time, so today was the day. Now he knew why human males complained so much while they were out with their girlfriends or wives. He was stuck with seven heavy ass bags full of clothes, while Alia spotted ahead for another store to raid. Instead of another store, she picked out a restaurant, as it was almost time for lunch. X sighed as they made a trek to the hover car to store the bags of death. He slumped against the back of the car as the trunk slid down. Well, at least he felt lighter. X turned around when he felt an unusual cold wind. Shrugging it off, he turned back around.

"X! Look at that!" Alia said excitedly. X looked in her direction and saw what looked like a giant column. "Oh yeah. Isn't it called part of the 'Jakob Project', or something?" Alia asked the astonished X.

"Yeah. It's near Galapagos, right?" X asked as he studied the gigantic rail elevator.

"Uh-huh. It's expected to be complete by next year. Wanna go check it out?"

"Sure, but let's eat first. Didn't get a chance to since we ran into the Invisible Brigade."

"Yeah, sounds good."

So with that, X and Alia started walking towards the restaurant they were going to previously. White snow covered the sidewalks, streets and awnings. Flurries were falling from a melancholy sky. Like frozen tears that melted when they touched the two warm beings. As they walked along in silence, the cold air around them didn't seem to exist. X noticed that his right arm was around Alia's slender back. She twitched a little bit. Fearing that he was making her uncomfortable, he withdrew his arm slowly but Alia stopped him.

"It's ok, X. I'm pretty warm." She said as she gave him a smile that warmed his soul.

"Oh, o-ok." X said as he blushed a bit. Alia giggled at him, for he looked like a lobster. He got an idea to share his embarrassment. He pulled her close to him and got instant results. He looked down at her and saw that her face had become about as red as her snow cap. This invoked laughter from both of the crustaceous reploids. This laughter was abruptly interrupted when the street around the corner they turned held a horrific sight.

There, in the middle of the street across from the construction site, lay six life forms. X and Alia ran over to the bodies and examined them. X checked for the pulse of the first body: an adolescent human female, dead. Next, a middle aged male reploid, dead. Last, a young male reploid, dead. X closed his eyes and swore under his breath.

"X! O-over he-here!" Alia stammered out as she showed X a sickening sight. He ran over to her and checked the body she was next to. A dead human, who looked like he was in his twenties, had numerous gashes and punctures riddled over his body. His upper torso had a gaping hole in it, and his arteries had been completely cauterized. But, the entire hole was iced over. This sent chills down X's spine. Whoever, _whatever_ did this was using high energy plasma weaponry. This had to be a maverick attack. What should he do?

"_(Damn! Think X! Think!!)_" X scanned the surroundings for any unusual activity. Left, clear. Right, clear. Behind them, clear. Front, clear. Above them, three energy shots were fast approaching, heading straight for Alia. "_(Oh SHIT!)_" X impetuously dove towards Alia, who was unaware of the impending death. He rolled them away from the bolts, hoping to either dodge them completely, or let the lasers hit him instead of her. X winced in pain as his right shoulder took two of the shots. He quickly stood up and scanned the sky for the attacker. Nothing. "Damn! Alia, you have to get into the restaurant, you'll be safer there." Alia stood there, shocked and terrified. "ALIA!" She flinched, signaling that she was down to Neo Earth again.

"R-right. X, what about you?! What're you gonna do?" She said with panic in her voice, as she feared that he would put himself in danger again. X pulled out his communicator and pressed a button to send his armor to his location.

"I'm gonna try to get rid of that maverick. I'll be fine." X reassured her as the enemy plopped down on the street, a few hundred feet away from them. Alia got up and scuffled towards the restaurant doors. X stood up and readied himself for the armor program to initiate. He had to remain relatively still, or the beam would miss him, and he would have to wait for a full minute for the program to send another beam. He saw a flash come from the figure, and realized that the maverick had let fly a bullet.

Time seemed to freeze for both X and Alia as the searing beam penetrated her left calf. She let out a high-pitched scream, as blood and small amounts of synth flesh followed the beam's trail. X dashed over towards Alia, just as the armor beam was about to connect. Another beam struck her in her left shoulder as she was falling towards the ground. Her blood soaked through her pant leg and overcoat, reinforcing X's fear that she was shot. Another shot was fired, but missed high. X caught Alia just before she hit the ground. He frantically looked around for something to shield her from the lasers. He spotted a round, hemispherical bulge protruding on the sidewalk to the right of them. He brushed off the snow and revealed a familiar, yellow hardhat.

"A Metool? Perfect!" A little black shape with large circular eyes popped out and looked at X. It whirred and warbled with much curiosity. X found a shielding control switch on the inside of the helmet and cranked it all the way to the right. A shot was heard from the maverick. Though it missed greatly to the left, the shielding wave from the metool deflected the shot. "Excellent. Alia hang in there! I'll call for a pickup team." X ran out towards the middle of the street were he signaled the beam and brought the communicator up to his ear. In less than a second, the communicator exploded, and the shot flew dangerously close to X's head. Now he had to be hit by the beam, or it was all over. To his fear, the maverick was charging up a beam of high energy. X closed his eyes, hoping that the beam would come soon.

"Get down, X!!!" A familiar voice called out from behind him. He ducked as several shots from rang out from where the voice was. They traveled with immense speed and nailed their intended target. X was now surrounded in a bright aura, indicating that he connected with the armor beam. When the flash dissipated, X stood up and turned around to face the person who bought him the vital time he needed. The reploid was clad in deep blue armor, and had a ragged cloak, complete with a scarf covering his face. He wielded two energy pistols, and had spiky orange hair tied in a ponytail.

"Good to see you again, X!" The reploid said to the taller Maverick Hunter.

"Likewise. Good to see you again too, Axl." X said to the shorter reploid.

Axl undid a button that held the cloak together at the neck, and whisked it away, scarf and all. This revealed an X shaped scar across his face. Yep, it was Axl alright. And he couldn't have come at a better time. He redrew his pistols and assumed a fighting pose.

"Well, shall we get started?" Axl said with a confident smirk, as X readied his buster with an equal grin.

"Yeah, let's get that bastard!"

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To those that reviewed my fic so far:

Happy New Years! Oh, a little late on that, sorry! Anyway, I had a major writer's block until I read my new reviews! Thank you guys so much! Oh yeah, and Erckie, funny you should ask about Axl, cause I had written down something in my notes about "Axl MUST come back SOON". So yeah, I figured X desperately needed help, so who better to aid him in his time of need? (Other than Zero, since he's overused) Plus, Axl's one of my favorites. Hopefully, this entire fic will somehow tie in to the Megaman Zero story line (skipping Command Mission). Maybe even Legends too? It's far from over. Anyway, I now have renewed motivation! Thank you again, reviewers! Hope you continue to review!

And for those of you who _didn't _review yet:

Please? Review for me? :P  
Well, I'm off. I will update soon (hopefully by late Friday, early Saturday.)

Until Next Time!!!


	8. Arcadia pt II

Hello, once again! You know the disclaimer; so why all of a sudden, after several times saying it, would I just up and shout, "I OWN MEGAMAAAAN!!!!"? Cause, I don't. Well, on with part II!

**Chapter 7: Arcadia pt. II**

Downtown Arcadia  
Time:  
-12:02-

Alia opened her eyes to see a metool staring at her with mild curiosity. It quickly collapsed into a defensive state, its helmet clanging softly in the snow. Then it lifted part of its helmet to peek at her. She smiled then suddenly cringed, as her badly wounded leg throbbed and pulsated. Her shoulder didn't hurt much, as the anesthesia unit was located in the upper part of her body. This had been the first time she was ever shot. And as she found out, it was nothing like how Neo Hollywood projected it to be. Of all days, why did a maverick have to strike today? Why on their one day-off in years? Why, when she and X were finally getting close? Oh no, X! Where was he?! It had to be X who put this metool by her for shielding. She couldn't turn her legs without feeling like she was going to die for at least another ten minutes, as the anesthesia unit had not triggered yet. She looked around desperately, but to her dismay, X was not in sight. This would probably not work, but she decided to ask the metool.

"Heh heh, umm, do you know where my friend is? X?" She asked the small mechanoid, feeling grateful that no one was around to hear her question. Expecting to hear a confused warble, she was shocked when the metool perked up and pointed an over-turned teacup shaped foot in X's general direction. Alia painstakingly sat up and placed her hands behind her to search for X. Sure enough, he was there. She smiled to herself, feeling somewhat relieved that X was still alive. There was also Axl standing next to him. They were sure to make it out alive now. She turned to face the lil met. "Thank you." The little guy nodded his head up and down as if he understood her, then made an odd sounding warble and fell backwards because he was still standing on one leg. Alia giggled at the clumsy being. His feet were moving rapidly through the air, trying to flip himself over.

Alia reached over and flipped him. He warbled out something that sounded like a "Thank You!".

"You're welcome, little guy... what?" Alia stared at the metool with utter amazement. This particular metool was far more advanced than previously created metools. It turned towards X, Axl, and the mystery reploid. Alia followed suit, still amazed at the metool.

Axl charged at the maverick with great velocity while firing all the way. X was rapidly sorting through fifty-six different weapon programs in his mind.

"_(Flame Mammoth, Chill Penguin, Wheel Gator, Ground Scaravich, Axel the Red, Tornado Tonion, Metal Shark Player, Magma Dragoon, Blizzard Wolfgang... I gotta sort these out later on...)_ OK!"

X activated both X-busters and downloaded a weapons program into each. Meanwhile, Axl flew towards the maverick, firing volleys of energy at him along the way. The maverick put up him arms to shield himself from the oncoming energy blasts. Axl skidded to a stop, kicking up snow that lingered in the air. This was not good, as the maverick was completely obscured now. Axl strained to see through the thick cloud of snow. He had found his target, or rather, his target's fist. The reploid's fist had flown off of his wrist and collided with Axl's jaw, sending him flying headfirst towards the side of a nearby building. Thinking quickly, Axl flipped himself around so that his feet would smash the building rather than his noggin. Axl closed his eyes as he made contact with the hard digibrick wall, sending up clouds of debris and puffs of smoke. By this time, X was rushing towards the maverick, both busters active and charging up. The maverick whipped around towards X, and held out a fist. X continued his charge, readying himself for anything the icy maverick would throw at him. The fist that clocked Axl had veered around and was hurtling towards X's right side. Waiting for the right moment, X activated his thrust engines to flip up and over the fast approaching fist. Now, he just had to find some way to avoid the second fist that was planning to swat him out of the sky. He needed both of the charged fire type weapons in his buster, so plan B was unsheathed.

Alia was watching the fight from the sideline as usual, but this time seemed different. She couldn't really give X any tips or strategies about this maverick, or tell him to be careful every two minutes. But now she could see how he fought, and how he dodged every attack thrown at him, the disgust on his face at the maverick for injuring one of his friends. This was the closest that any navigator in history has been to a battle. Now she knew exactly what X has been going through these many years. Now she knows why he tells her that he will be okay and she doesn't need to worry all of the time. Now, whenever X went on a mission, though she wishes that he didn't have to, she knows that he will be okay, that he'll come back.

X was meters away from the fist when he drew out the Z-Saber. With a swift vertical swipe, the maverick's fist was erased. X landed with a low thud in the snow and replaced the Z-Saber. He continued running towards the maverick, who seemed to be writhing in pain. Axl finally made it out of the large hole in the wall, with only a few scuff marks on his face. He grinned, and jumped out of the wall towards the maverick. But, the cloud of snow that Axl kicked up earlier was still lingering in the air. How odd. Axl was oblivious to this, as he phased-out his pistols and phased-in his Circle Blaze weapon, obtained from the Red Alert Incident. He blindly fired into the thick clouds of snow, vaporizing them as the blaze tore through, looking for its target. Then, all of a sudden, the snow clouds disappeared, revealing X on the ground, underneath the massive maverick's heel. Axl held his fire while studying the maverick's features. Ice blue armor, large shoulder mounted energy cannon, face-plated helmet. Yep, definitely Icestorm Konga. But why was he in the city? He belongs in the Hadokai Mountains....

"AXL! A LITTLE, H-HELP?!" X cried desperately. His armor was developing hairline cracks from the stress of the Konga's foot on his chest. Axl readied his weapon once more, ready to melt Konga's head off of his shoulder. As soon as he pulled the trigger, Konga jumped into the air, pushing off of X. The blaze of molten plasma streamed into the air, vaporizing part of a building. The ape-like maverick landed several feet down the street from Axl and X. Axl walked over to X, offering a hand to help him up. X took up the offer and stood up painfully. Icestorm stood in a wide stance as his shoulder cannon slowly lifted upwards. It began to snow lightly, with the snow going towards Icestorm's cannon.

"Damn! We have to stop that maverick!" X said while holding his chest. Axl nodded and fired off a round of his Circle Blaze. At least, that's what would've happened if he had any weapon energy left.

"Heh, looks like I'm out. Gotta spare recharge?"

"No dice." The maverick's cannon stored the channeled energy and was about to enter charge phase. A glint of blue aura surrounded the cannon as it began charging. X was in a panic now. As if Sigma's desperation attack wasn't enough to give him nightmares for a few years, Icestorm's weapon had piercing abilities _and _freezing effects! This did not bode well.

"X..."

"Yeah?"

"Wanna try it?"

"Alpha right? Yeah, it's worth a shot."

Konga's cannon was fully charged and was beginning to frost over. He planted his feet in the snow and crouched down a little bit. X and Axl began rushing towards him with something up their sleeves. Konga wasted no time as he hastily fired the cannon. X and Axl continued running as full speed.

"NOW X!!" Axl shouted as he jumped high in the air. X kicked off of a damaged car and was caught by Axl's hands. Axl then activated his air dashing ability, hurtling him and X towards Konga. Meanwhile, X swung his legs backwards to build up momentum for the next phase. As Axl's dash ended, he flung X forward. Now X had three options. One, he activated his air dash and rammed the maverick, causing him to fly back a few hundred feet. Two, he does nothing and slams into Konga, causing damage to himself. Three, he uses the stored weapons energy to hurt the maverick. X skipped over option one, and landed in front of Konga. He aimed at Konga with unmatched speed, and opened fire on his cannon. Konga let out an ape-like growl of agony as his shoulder became severely burned. The armor first melted to the synth skin, which burned away along with the synthetic muscles, revealing the shiny metallic bone, which blackened from the extreme heat. X looked up at Axl who was about to land next to him. As he did so, He and X began to glow with a blue aura. Konga recovered from his writhing pain and attempted to strike the hunters. But before any contact was made, X and Axl hopped a few inches off of the ground and performed a "star" stance. The aura surrounding them morphed into a sphere which expanded rather quickly and collided with Konga. X and Axl landed on the ground again and stood before the massive, but time frozen, Konga stood in the attacking position. Axl phased-in his pistols and rapidly shot plasma bullets at Konga, peppering his armor and face, while X's buster shot out a continuous hyper-condensed plasma beam into the ape-like maverick. Konga never moved an inch. Nothing moved as a matter of fact, except for anything that was inside the aura field (not including the enemy.) After about six seconds of attacking, X and Axl assumed another "star" stance. The aura field dissipated as X and Axl deactivated their weapons and started walking away. Within seconds, Icestorm Konga went up in a fierce explosion. The big head of the frosty maverick landed a few feet in front of Axl, its eyes still glowing red. Axl proceeded to bury a bullet into it.

"Axl, the hover car...should be...around the corner..." X said through gasps of air.

"Right, I'll bring it around."

X sorely shuffled over towards Alia and the metool. The metool was jumping around happily, making all kinds of whirring and warbling noises. He got over to Alia who was still bewildered by the Hyper Attack Alpha executed earlier. X knelt down beside her, and took off his helmet. She gave him the 'I'm glad you're okay" smile she usually gives him whenever he gets through with a battle. She then let out a small wince, as her wounded leg pained her a bit. X looked at her wound. Yep, she would be off-duty for at least two days. He was surprised at how well Alia has been, being shot twice and all. Hell, Stryke thought he was gonna die during holographic training. Before he knew it, she had him in a firm hug. He subconsciously returned her hug, feeling a bit lightheaded.

"Alia..." X said softly.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry...you had to...get caught up...in...this...on...our...daay...ooffff..." X trailed off, as his body became heavier. Alia was a bit surprised that X passed out, let alone in her arms. He must have drained his power cell a lot. She looked down at the metool, who was busy spinning around in circles. Poor X, and carrying all those bags probably didn't help, either. Axl turned the corner in the hover car, stopping a few feet away from Alia, the metool and the sleeping X. He got out and opened up the passenger door. Alia called out for him to help her.

"Whoa! He must've used up a pretty good portion of his power cell." Axl said as he hefted X up off of the sore Alia. X woke up briefly and started to stumble towards the hover car. Axl helped him along and got him inside. X immediately fell asleep again, his systems attempting to recharge themselves. Axl trotted back over to Alia, who managed to sorely stand up on her good leg. She draped her arm around his neck for support, and they began their trek to the hover car. The metool marched alongside them, as if escorting a government official. Axl eyed the small mechanoid as it marched along with them and smiled.

"Heh heh. I've never seen a metool that protective. Of anything other than itself, I mean." Axl said smugly as they reached the side door. The met looked up at him as if he were stupid, and made a warbled raspberry sound. Axl helped Alia into the car (and the metool followed) and shut the door. "And sassy, too." Axl said to himself. He jogged around to the driver's side and hopped in. Within seconds, the hover car hummed to life. It swung around and headed down the snow covered streets of downtown Arcadia.

A lone figure was hanging on the side of a building in the distance. She watched the hover car through deep blue eyes. It seems that they finished off what she had started...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MHHQ  
Time:  
-12:26-

Signas sat back in his chair, rocking back and forth. What should he do? Should he? Or should he not? Signas continued to rock back and forth. Back and forth. Back an...

"Well, did you decide yet?!" An angry sounding voice exploded from behind his chair. He made a decision. His chair creaked as he turned slowly around to face Echo. He stood up and looked at her with a stern face.

"Well?" Echo asked quizzical.

"Echo Zelinger. You are to report to the 0th Unit in 0200 hours. The commander will give you further instructions as to where your quarters are, as well as issue you your standard armor. Welcome aboard, Echo." Signas extended his hand to shake hers.

"Thank you.... sir." Echo extended her hand to shake hands with her new superior commander. As she turned to walked out, she whispered to herself.

"Excellent."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mess Hall  
Time:  
-12:31-

Zero grinned wildly to himself as he walked into the mostly reconstructed mess hall. They had his favorite in today, and no one was going to take them. Today, no one could separate him from his beloved steamed buns. Lightly toasted flour shells filled with seasoned ground pork. All wrapped up and steamed to perfection. Oh yes, those heavenly steamed buns. He became all giddy, and let out a small squeal of joy. He finally got up to the line when he realized something was terribly wrong. There were no steamed buns here. He almost lost it when he remembered that they were on the _other_ side of the cafeteria. Zero hopped over the barricade of hungry hunters as dashed to the opposite side of the mess hall. He grabbed people and shoved them out of the way, becoming quite desperate for the buns. After what seemed like eons of pushing, shouting and stumbling, he made it to the counter they were located. Or, _were _located, as Kicker grabbed the last one. Zero felt as if he were going to die of starvation. He latched onto Kicker, begging him to surrender the bun to him.

"No way, man. You had yours, and Leyna's, and Stryke's, _and _Locke's, _and_..."

"Come on, Kick! I...I'll just diiiie if I don't have one mor..." Zero's begging came to a halt as he was called to the southeastern parking lot over the intercom. Kicker was also called. Zero's whole attitude changed as he got up and ran off to the parking lot, with Kicker on his heels. They arrived at the parking lot to see a hover car shut down. It was the same car X and Alia left in a few hours ago. Zero found Signas, and decided to see if he could answer his question.

"Hey Signas, you know why those two are back?" Zero asked his first question. Signas sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know. X reported something of a maverick attack of some sort. But even if it were an attack, X would be able to handle it." Signas said with a confident smile. He looked at Zero as if he knew something. Zero smiled sheepishly as the hover car doors opened. Everyone was surprised to see Axl step out of the driver's side. He looked around and called out.

"Who's Kicker?" Axl asked the group watching him. A figure ran out towards him.

"I'm Kicker, and you're..."

"Axl. Nice to meet you, now help Alia, I got X." Axl ordered the medic, who had a confused face. Kicker turned to face Signas and Zero, looking for an answer. All he got was shrugged shoulders and equally confused faces. He sighed and ran around the car. Minutes passed before X and Axl walked around the front. X separated from Axl, who ran back around the side of the car. X shuffled his way to Signas, who was bewildered that he was injured somewhat.

"X, what happened? You look like hell." Signas asked the worn-out reploid. X had a miffed expression.

"Signas....No more...damned.....forced....vacations...." X forced out as he coughed up a little bit of blood. Signas caught him and called for a medic. As X went limp, Signas caught a glimpse of what looked like Alia, with a bullet wound in her leg and shoulder, being aided by Kicker. He couldn't believe it. There actually _was _a maverick attack. He was sorry that it took seeing Alia shot up to realize it. He turned to Zero.

"Zero, take your unit and go investigate downtown Arcadia. Use extreme caution."

"Yes sir!" Zero said smugly as he spun around and ran towards the building with Leyna following him closely. Kicker carried Alia to the nearby stretcher and sat her down. She looked over at X, who lay unconscious on another stretcher.

"He'll be alright. He'll be alright." Alia kept telling herself that X was okay, that he had been through worse. She continued to gaze at him as he was being rolled into the building. A tear fell from her eye as Kicker began to roll her into the building.

Axl walked over to Signas, who was pacing about. Signas saw Axl approaching and stopped.

"Ah, Axl. How have you been?" Signas asked the shorter reploid.

"I'm doin' good. How 'bout you?" Axl replied.

"Not so well. I feel bad about forcing X and Alia into a day-off." The woeful commander said in a monotone voice. Axl clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey! Don't feel bad about. You couldn't have known this was gonna happen."

"..."

"Cheer up! Anyway, I got somethin' to ask you." Signas raised an eyebrow of suspicion.

"What is it?"

"You still got a place for me in the Hunters?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

OK! That wraps up pt.II! Did you enjoy? I enjoyed writing this chapter. I only wish that I could've made Axl's return more dramatic. Anyway, thanks to my reviewers, and I hope that you keep reading as long as I keep writing! Things are about to blow up soon. So don't miss it! Also, for those of you that don't know, a star stance is when one stands with their legs shoulder width apart and arms extended to either side, forming a star shape. Well, there ya go! Until next time!!


	9. Apocalyptic Nightmare

Alright guys! I don't own anything Capcom owns. Plain and simple. Let's get on with the story.

A/N: This chapter and probably the rest are going to be plot-heavy, meaning that the main story is basically starting to mold.

**Chapter 8: Apocalyptic Nightmare**

MHHQ  
Time:  
-16:05-

Echo dashed around the blazing city, looking for her foe. She ducked under the slab of digicrete that was seemingly thrown at her. She abruptly stopped and unsheathed her new plasma daggers. She took a defensive stance as she listened attentively. She heard the roar of the scorching flames, the groans of the collapsing buildings and the ambience of the lucid city. The smoke that filled area she was in obscured her vision somewhat. Footsteps. Echo whisked herself around to face them. Nothing. The crackling sound of a plasma blade igniting was heard to her left. All that was left was a trail of lavender plasma. She waited for a few seconds. A trail of plasma came slicing through the smoke ahead of her. She held up her daggers to neutralize the strike. The lavender and deep sapphire hue of the blades illuminated the face of the enemy. It was a Shinobi imitation reploid, complete with mask and scarf. He back-flipped away as Echo broke the blade grapple and lunged at him with a stab. She immediately gave chase and tossed her right dagger at him. He sidestepped and countered with an energy shuriken. She hopped over it, as its trajectory was aimed at her legs. She held out her right hand and made a fist. Something blue in the distance came hurtling back towards the Shinobi, who was charging at her. Echo nodded towards the returning dagger, and the Shinobi looked behind his back. He did an aerial flip to the side in order to dodge the blade. Echo caught her dagger and smirked. The Shinobi winced in pain as his left arm clattered noisily to the ground. He then rushed at Echo, ignoring his injury. Echo barely had enough time to react to the blow by blocking. The Shinobi dished out slash after slice after swipe. Echo was barely able to block each one. Then the ninja reploid switched out of sword swinging and spun around to kick Echo in the stomach. Expecting a sword strike, she took the forceful kick and went flying several feet into a pile of rubble. She climbed out of the debris just as the Shinobi was falling on top of her for an overhead strike. Echo raised her daggers to hopefully absorb stop the rapidly falling blow. Instead, her daggers were knocked away from her. The Shinobi flipped his blade around, and thrust his blade into Echo's heart, or where it would be. She felt a strange coolness and tingling sensation as the blade passed through her chest. Then, she heard a voice.

"Ok, Echo. That's enough." The voice of Leyna came over the intercom. The city Echo was in began to digitize and became pixilated. Soon it disappeared, along with the Shinobi hologram, revealing a light blue tiled room. Leyna slid open a door and stepped in to give her the results.

"Well?" Echo asked with an eager voice.

"You destroyed nine out of ten targets, sustained two-hundred out of two-hundred points of damage and broke the record for quickest time through the run." Leyna read off of the sheet. She sounded surprised as she read the last part.

"Well, I guess that's why my name is Echo!" Echo said, resuming her cocky posture.

"Wow, a minute seventeen. That's faster than Zero and X!"

"(_Which reminds me... Just how the hell _did_ X defeat me the other day? I must be losing my edge.)_"

"Well, that's it for training; you're free to do what you please for the rest of the day." Leyna said as she escorted Echo out of the training hall. Echo eventually made it to her room. She took off her armor and dressed in comfortable clothes. She decided that she would hang out in the Main Hall, see if there was anymore info, or dirt, she could pick up. She closed the door and walked down the hall towards the MH. Her thoughts soon wandered to Scar and Rayne.

"(_Wonder if the guys are worried about me...? I know Scar is. I just hope they start the second part of the plan soon. I need to find out when these guys are going to attack. The sooner they do, the sooner I can return to my own unit._)"

-Flashback-  
"_So, they plan to use a bio weapon chemical on us?! In a week's time?!_"

"_Not just on the Hunters, but on every reploid in a _three-thousand mile radius._ You know the way that girl, Locke, reacted when she received a small dosage of Weapon Alpha? Imagine that happening to the entire continent of Neo Asia. I don't really agree with what's happening, but we somehow have to prove that we're not Mavericks!_"

"_Great Light. Is _that _what all this is about?_"

"_Well, to be blunt, yeah. But there is a way to stop it. If a large amount of high energy, such as super condensed plasma, were to interact with the main power core of the cannon, it would disrupt the rail waves needed to launch the chemical. The implosion of the power core would also neutralize the chemical agents in Weapon Alpha._"

"_Ok, one more question. How do you know all of this? I know that you're a mav... an _enemy_, but it only seems like weapon developers and scientists would know that about that kind of inside info. Not a frontline officer._"

"_Heh. Let's just say that looks can be deceiving. Sure, I'm an accomplished fighter, hell, I'm badass. But I double as a nuclear engineer. And besides, I'm the _only_ person in the entire corps that knows of Weapon Alpha's glitch. But if you guys decide to raid the place, please, _please _don't kill Rayne. Or Scar._"

"_Ok, I'll try to make that happen. Dunno about Zero, though. We appreciate your cooperation. Now, we'll need you to direct us to the cannon when we do attack. So, you still want to join the Hunters?_"

"_Hell yeah. I actually want to stop this action they're taking myself. But, treason was not an option. Plus, I didn't want to drag Scar and Rayne into the mess I would've created._"

"_You seem...close...to those two?_"

"_Yeah, Rayne's my twin, and Scar's a close friend._"

"_Hmm, I see. Ok, you're dismissed._"  
-End Flashback-

"(_Wow. Heh, I wonder if I can really pull this off. Commander Orion sure put a lot of trust in me. The _Hunters_ put a lot of trust in me._)"

She was surprised when she bumped into something soft, and fell down. She looked up at the looming figure. He held out a hand, offering to help her up.

"Sorry bout that, you all right?"

She took his hand and he lifted her up with great strength. As she scuffled to her feet, she looked up at who she accidentally rammed into. He had sharp, but soft green eyes. His smile comforted her. Even though she didn't know who he was, she felt like she had known him for years. His reddish orange hair sat messily on top of his head, as a few bangs stood out from the rest. He had a scar on his face. He wore a loose green T-shirt and baggy blue jeans. She was lost in his eyes. They seemed to make her forget about anything and everything that happened in the past few days.

"Hmm? Hey, miss? You alright?" Axl tried reaching the dumbfounded girl.

"Oh, yeah. Umm... fine I am...sorryforbumpingintoyou!" Echo stammered out as she stepped around Axl and briskly walked down the hall trying to conceal a blush. Axl turned and stared at her while she nearly bumped into many other people. He sighed and continued to his destination. Echo found Leyna on a bench by a fountain in the MH. She sighed and sat next to her.

"Hey, what's up?" Leyna said as she looked up from her book at the red Echo. She looked down the hall and saw Axl walking down it.

"Who's that guy?" Echo said timidly. She was fidgeting around on the bench. Leyna cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, him? That's Axl. You know, he the new generation reploid prototype. Cute, huh?" Leyna toyed with Echo.

"Axl, huh...? Thanks!" Echo finally suppressed her blush. She stood up and went over towards a group of people.

"You're welcome?" Leyna was confused now. Oh well, she thought.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Downtown Arcadia  
Time:  
-17:21-

Zero walked dubiously around the streets, looking for nothing. This sucked. Never again would he tell an investigation team to suck it up. Damn snow. It only served to make the search harder. He looked over at his unit. Everybody looked bored; they were either waltzing around, throwing snowballs, or dodging them. They had already found the source of the attack, Icestorm Konga. X and Axl did a pretty good job busting him up. Zero thought back to the last transmission he got from HQ.

-Flashback-  
_Beep. _"_This is Zero. We've finished searching the city..._again_. Should we report back to HQ?_"

"_Good job, Zero. Go ahead and wrap things u...hold on._"

Voices heard in background. "_.........one more round......outta my hair....._"

"_Zero, Signas says to make one more round. Then you guys can come back. Over and out._"

"......" _Beep.  
_-End Flashback-

"That was the fourth report, too. I don't think Signas is very fond of us." Zero said dryly to himself as he leaned up against a light pole.

"Hey, Zero!!"

Zero reacted to the booming voice of Siege, a gruff Hunter in his unit. He was running towards Zero with an urgent look on his face. Zero perked up and cleared all thoughts of pranks on Signas out of his mind.

"Siege, what's up?" Zero asked eagerly.

"Come back to the base, now! The mavericks are about to make an announcement on channel 111!"

"Alright, will do. Tell the others to head back as well."

"Ok. Man, shit's about to get heavy, I can feel it."

"Got that right. See ya at HQ." Siege nodded and ran off towards the frolicking hunters. Moments later, light flashes and warp beams signaled that the hunters got the word. Zero struck his usual pose as he was engulfed in a crimson light.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MHHQ-Grand Hall  
Time:  
-17:29-

X walked into the Grand Hall, and found Stryke, Locke, and Kicker sitting across from one of the many televisions. He ran over to them.

"Hey X! How ya doin'?" Locke asked with concern.

"I'm fine. So, what's all this about?"

"Dunno yet. Heard rumors that the mavericks making some kind of speech, or somethin'." Stryke perked up.

"Hmm..." X looked around for Alia, but she was nowhere in sight. "You guys seen Alia?"

"Yeah, she's still in the infirmary. Wonder if the word got to her?" Kicker answered.

"Thanks!" X spun around and jetted down the hall towards the infirmary. When he arrived, he asked the desk nurse where her room was. She told him Room 10, and he was off again. Almost out of breath, he knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A sweet voice responded to the soft knock. He opened the door and walked in. Alia was sitting on the edge of her bed, with Ed, the metool, on her lap. Ed popped up and looked over at X. He seemed delighted to see him. X walked over to Alia and sat next to her.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" X asked sympathetically.

"I'm fine. Ed here made sure of that." Alia said with a smile as she looked down at Ed.

"Good. Hey, did you hear about the rumors about the maverick announcement?"

"Yea. I'm changing over to it right now." She flipped the channel from some reality show to channel 111. X sighed, wondering what was to happen after this broadcast. He looked at the time, 17:30.

"X, what's gonna happen?" Alia asked worriedly.

"I don't know. I just hope that it's a harmless announcement. I mean, we have our hands full with Weapon Alpha. I don't know what else they plan to do..." X said with a hint of hopelessness in his voice. Ed warbled in agreement. As promised, the Maverick's insignia popped up on screen, and was replaced with the mug of Orion. X, Alia and Ed all listened intensely.

"Greetings, fellow reploids, humans and Maverick Hunters. As you all know, we have been labeled Mavericks, even though the late Sigma was destroyed months ago, and the "Maverick Virus" disappeared. Yet, the Hunters still continue to beat us down, destroy us, even though the virus does not exist anymore. This is why we must retaliate."

X got a knot in his stomach. He had a feeling whatever was going to happen next would be devastating. He looked at Alia with worried eyes. The usual commotion in the MH was now silent, as the many reploids were intensely watching the broadcast.

"We simply cannot let ourselves be destroyed by a deaf government. The only way to get out from under the crushing weight of the Hunters is to launch Weapon Alpha!"

A massive cannon, which stood at least three stories in height, was shown aimed at the center of Neo Asia.

"NO!" X cried. Alia shook her head in confusion. The hunters in the MH were shocked, pissed, and terrified.

"Weapon Alpha: a chemical agent designed to disrupt the E.X. drive of reploids, causing them to act violently. Once administered, all of the reploids in Neo Asia will become nothing but thrashing _animals_. We are ready to fire the cannon at midnight. You want a war, Hunters? You can have your war. Not with Mavericks, but with Hunter Erasers!!" The transmission ended with an icy glare from Orion.

"Oh no...no. No. NO!" X whispered to himself loudly. He pressed his face into him palms.

"X, what're we gonna do? That cannon will fire in _six and a half hour_!!" Alia said, her voice trembling. Ed jumped off of her lap and started walking around in circles. X stood up, clenching his fists.

"Damn it! We have to act _now_!" Right on cue, the alarm assembling all hunters to the Grand Hall sounded. He started for the door, when Alia stopped him.

"Wait, X!" She said, her voice a bit mellow. "I'll go down to the Navi Room. I'll be your navigator." Alia stood up sorely, with a determined look on her face.

"Alia..."

"X, don't try to stop me. I won't listen, anyway. I'm going to be there with you, whether you like it or not." Alia said, her usual stern voice quivering. X turned around and embraced her tightly. She returned his warm hug with one of her own. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Alia. Thank you for always being there for me." X said in a strong voice.

"No problem, Rock. No problem."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Whoo-hoo! I got this chapter done in two days! Thank you, reviewers, for your support. If the story seems slow, well, things are heating up! Any questions, comments, even flames (although I will ignore them) you have about this story, feel free to e-mail them to me. And I will respond to the best of my ability. Well, that's all for now! Until next update!


	10. Operation: Hunter Storm

Disclaimer: Wait. You're tellin' me you know this stuff? And that I don't need to write it? Cool! But to be safe, I don't own the Megaman Series. I just add on to the chaos that is already in existence. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 9: Operation: Hunter Storm**

MHHQ-17th Hallway  
Time:  
18:05-

X ran down the hall from his room, donned in full Ultimate Armor. He couldn't believe it. The Erasers were planning to fire a death cannon. This, they knew. But, the Erasers firing the cannon a week early? This was going to be a bit tough. Had Echo been telling the real truth? She had to be, otherwise, the Hunters would have never known about the cannon. Plus, she was held here for a while, so she couldn't have possibly known that they were going to fire earlier. X saw a few figures in the distance, running in the same direction.

"Hey!" X called out, his voice slightly elongated from his sprint. The figures up ahead slowed down and looked over their shoulders.

"X! There you are!" Locke exhaled. She seemed cheerful, even though the situation they were in was critical.

"Hey! Those damn Erasers! Why now!" Stryke whined.

"Alright guys, this is the big one. We cannot fail this mission, or, well, you know what'll happen." X reminded the two. They responded with a nod, and picked up their sprint. X thought back to the end of the interrogation.

Flashback-

"_So, they fire in a week, huh?_"

"_Yes. -Sigh- I really wish it didn't have to come to this. It's bad enough that we were forced into..._"

"_Hmm? What was that?_"

"_Damn it. X can you keep a secret?_"

"_Sure, what is it?_"

"_Well, a few years ago, sometime after the Sixth Uprising, my sister, Rayne and I were forced into the Outpost Corps. They wiped certain parts of our memories, too. For instance, I can remember up to an hour before we were captured, but as far as my creator, no dice. Then, they put us through tests._"

"_What kind of tests?_"

"_Well, for me, they tested me on my logical aptitude, combat skills, and physical strength. And that's when I found out that I'm an apt Nuclear Engineer._"

"_I'm sorry..._"

"_Don't be. It's Orion's fault. I'll get that bastard._"  
End Flashback-

"Echo..." X thought about the troubled girl. His thoughts soon became scattered, as the group came to the large doors of the Assembly Hall. The humungous doors slid open to reveal the many ranks and squads that made up the Maverick Hunters. The 1st, 4th, 11th, 17th, 23rd and 0th Units were all fell in and at attention. To the left, X saw Douglass, Karbon and Cogs, lined up around what looked like a prototype _something_. It sort of resembled a Ride Armor, though the size had been scaled down a bit, making it look more like an extra set of armor. It had a rotating triple-barreled rail gun mounted on its left shoulder. The right arm was a huge particle displacement cannon, capable of taking down at least three or four tanks.

To the right, X saw the Navigation team, which consisted of Pak, Shila, Alia, and many other spotters X didn't recognize. He also caught a glimpse of a purple haired intern he saw looming around the Navi room earlier this week. X found his unit and promptly fell in. Across from his unit stood the 0th, which consisted of Zero, Axl, Leyna, Echo and Siege. The Medical staff stood a little ways to the left of them. Everybody was assembled. Signas looked around and started the briefing.

"Alright, Hunters. This is it, Operation Hunter Storm." He nodded towards Yao, who typed on his keyboard and activated a large holoscreen, showing the large crowd a map of Outpost Orion, along with estimated security positions, the location the cannon was positioned and a countdown timer until the cannon was fired. Timer read "5:53:06:87 remaining".

"This is the layout of Outpost Orion's main base. Intel shows that the cannon is located...here." Signas made another gesture to Yao, and the screen refreshed, showing a large, green energy signature. A whistle of amazement was heard from a squad in the 0th.

"Yes Zero, that is quite the sight." Signas said, looking in the direction of the 0th unit. Zero's jaw dropped in astonishment. Axl was about to crackup with laughter, but held his bearing and made a few odd sounds instead. Echo showed no strong emotion, but smirked a little bit due to Axl's childish behavior.

"It wasn't me!" Zero cried out. Signas ignored him and turned back to face the screen.

"Ok, this is the plan of attack: The 4th Stealth Unit will pair up with the 17th Assault Unit. These two units will assault the Outpost's front lines by Ride Chaser. The 4th will dismount 300 meters from the main assault, while the 17th will continue towards the battlefront to draw attention from the 4th.

The screen refreshed to show the main route of the 17th and 4th, along with the drop off point for the 4th. Signas continued the battle plan.

"From there, the 4th will go ghost, and contact the 11th Sniper Unit and the 0th Special Unit, letting them know how the situation is. The 4th will sneak up to the perimeter and deactivate any anti-air defenses of the Outpost with aid from the 11th's long range fire. The 0th will proceed and break off accordingly to the battle situation. If the 17th is somewhat overwhelmed, the majority of the 0th will aid them. If perimeter security is tight, then the majority will aid the 4th and 11th. Finally, the 1st Airborne Unit and 23rd Heavy Arms Unit will blow a hole through the side of the Outpost, and storm the inside. By then, the 17th should have whittled down the front line opposition, and will join the storming of the building. Any questions?" A hand shot up from the 4th.

"What kind of opposition can we expect to encounter?" The gritty voice of a seasoned hunter questioned.

"From our intel satellites, the Outpost has increased the security of the perimeter defenses since their announcement. That was about thirty minutes ago. Since we deploy in an hour, we can expect them to have at least 80 of their forces on the frontlines, and perimeter defense." Another hand shot up; this time from the 0th. "Yes, Zero." Signas said with an annoyed expression.

"Nevermind. I forgot." Zero said sheepishly as multiple sighs became audible. Signas gave Zero the eye of death and turned back around.

"Ok, if there are no other questions, then I'll wrap this up. Once the 1st, 4th and 17th are in the main complex, they are to search and destroy the weapon. Also, there are two individuals that need to stay alive if you encounter them." Signas made a gesture, and the screen flashed, revealing two reploids, one male, one female.

"The male is Scar Acceleron, and the female, Rayne Zelinger." Eyes in every Unit wandered around looking for Echo, who twitched nervously.

"Yeah, right. If _I_ come across Scar..." Zero scoffed, clenching his fist tightly at the sight of the evil looking Scar. Echo looked nervously over at Zero, who had fire in his eyes.

"Zero..." Echo started.

"Yeah, don't worry, kid. I'll just bust him up till he needs intensive care, but I won't kill him. _Yet_." Zero said with a smirk. Echo didn't know whether to laugh or cringe.

"All right hunters, you have your orders! We initiate Operation Hunter Storm at 19:00 hours. Until then, you are free to prepare and rest up for the strike. Dismissed!"

"AYE, SIR!" The hunters exclaimed as they snapped to a salute.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Outpost Orion - Assembly Hall  
Time:  
18:36-

"Erasers! The time for us to clear our names is almost at hand! Soon, every hunter on Neo Earth will be either destroyed, or will open up their eyes!" Orion exclaimed as he shot a fist up. This caused a massive uproar of noise from the many Eraser ranks. Scar, clad in new, sleeker-looking onyx armor, was leant up against the outside door, listening to Orion forming a plan to lead the entire base to their demise. What fools. How they listen to his load of crap. He shook his head as Orion began another winded speech.

"What to do...?" He closed his eyes and visualized his thoughts. There was no doubt that the Hunters would _not_ respond to the recent threat. If everything went according to plan, then Echo has joined the Hunters. Temporarily. Just then, the doors he was standing next to shot open. Out spilled a little more than one-thousand Hunter Erasers in a steady stream, all pumped and riled up. Many of the Erasers brushed up against him, and his once damaged shoulder. Scar poked his head up over the large crowd, looking for a certain someone. He scanned the stampede of reploids, looking for someone that matched Rayne's DNA signature. Finally, she appeared on the edge of the shifting crowd.

"Rayne!" Scar called out, barely audible due to the amount of commotion filling the hallway. Rayne looked around with a puzzled expression. She saw a familiar arm flailing about above the vast herd. Sighing inwardly, she passed through the crowd, making her way to the body the arm belonged to. In return, she received elbows ribs, stepped on feet, and caused a few people to trip. Finally making it to her destination, she found Scar leaned up against a wall. Rayne rushed over to him.

"Scar! Where were you? You missed the briefing." She said, giving him her best mock scolding voice.

"No I didn't. I was listening outside the door." Scar said coolly. Rayne crossed her arms over her chest, and widened her stance.

"Oh, really?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah. You can hear that bastard preach through soundproof digisteel." Scar said with a chuckle. Rayne laughed along with him. He stopped laughing abruptly and whispered something into Rayne's ear.

"How soon?" Rayne asked quizzically.

"As soon as the battle starts." Scar said with a careful glance over his shoulder. Rayne nodded and headed off towards the armory. Scar drew in another inward sigh, and started walking in the opposite direction. He was startled when a hand clasped down on his shoulder. He spun around with great speed and drew his blade. His eyes met the sharp eyes of Orion. Re-sheathing the hardened digisteel blade, he dismissed his combat stance and stood upright.

"Heh heh! That's some reflexes, Scar." Orion said with a snarl.

"Orion... What is it?" Scar asked with annoyance wet in his voice.

"Here." Orion threw an object at Scar, which was caught and examined.

"What is this?"

"It's the control to "end your nightmares". I now trust you enough to the point where I don't need to keep tags on you. Now, you may fight without worries."

"Nightmares?" Scar thought back to the recent dream he had had. He saw himself sprawled out on the floor in front of Orion. With Rayne shackled to a nearby wall.

"Surely you remember?" Orion said with a smirk.

"Yeah." Scar said. It took everything he had to _not_ lash out at Orion. It took great will power not to throttle the reploid that forced him into the military. Orion would pay for this; one way or another...

"And Scar?"

"..."

"Good luck." And with that, Orion turned around and walked off. Scar looked at the small elliptical device. Tossing it over his shoulder, he began to walk towards his continued destination. Before the object hit the ground, it flashed and split into fourths. Scar re-sheathed his katana as the door shut behind him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MHHQ-Armory  
Time:  
18:56-

X hopped onto his customized Ride Chaser T-X. He messed around with the control panel for a bit, then the sleek machine glowed and hummed to life. It lifted off the ground ever so slowly, calculating the weight of its operator. X's Chaser was customized so that it would only operate when the correct weighted person was on it. So he knew what was going on when his Chaser stopped humming and fell to the ground.

"Zero, you can at least _tell_ me next time when you decide to plop down on the seat." X said annoyed as the Crimson Demon de-cloaked himself.

"Sorry bout that! I completely forgot about that weight thing." Zero said with a smirk as X ignored him. X looked around the Launch Bay. The 17th in its entirety was lined up and ready to go. He gave them a reassuring nod as a voice came over his comm link.

"_17th, this is Alia. I'll be your navigator for this mission. Do any of you have any questions before the operation?_" Alia asked in a cool manner. Almost as soon as she finished, Zero started yelling like a human toddler for attention.

"I do! I have one!" Zero exclaimed eagerly.

"..._What is it Zero?_" Alia asked in a dreary tone, knowing he was about to ask something completely irrelevant about the mission.

"It's about the mission." He started in a serious tone. A small gasp was heard over the Chaser's comm link. X perked up and stared at Zero, half surprised, half suspicious.

"_What?_" Alia blurted out in shock.

"It's about the mission." He said again, this time with a more serious tone.

"_What is it?_"

"When we get back, X wants to know if he can take you out to La Cascada?" Zero said in a childish tone. X sat upright, and motioned to choke his friend as Alia growled over the comm link.

"_X, make _sure _that something happens to Zero before he gets back. Signas orders._" Alia said with a slight demonic tone. X smirked and turned back around to grab the controls.

"I'm just joking around, X! Heh heh. X? Um, Alia?" Zero said with a gradient voice going from kidding around to uncertainty. The Bay doors opened as the iridescent light of the setting sun spilled into the large room. A safety restraint held X perfectly still as the gusting kickwind of the once nearby chasers launched with incredible speed. X watched the signal light ahead of him with intensity. Still red. He tightened his grip on the controls.

"X, um. Where's _my_ restraint?" No answer. Still red.

"_Are you ready X?_" Alia asked in a firm voice.

"Yes. Let's go." X answered as he revved the engine. The light started flickering.

"X, where's my RESTRAINT!" Zero cried desperately.

"Megaman X, launching!"

"Please go slow! SLOW!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oh. My. Goodness. I'm terribly sorry about the long, long update. So sorry. Forgive me! Anyway, that's enough groveling. The reason for the long update is because I have been working with Game Maker, a game designing program, to create a Megaman-esque game, Phantom Paradise. Yep, I plan to have it tie into this story (which after re-reading past chapters, will be re-written) and even write a fic for it for those of you who don't want to play the game. So, I have a lot to do. But I should have plenty of time to do that, since only 4th QTR is left! 9 more weeks! I'll stop now! ... Anyway, I'll keep writing if you keep reading and reviewing! And I can't wait for Megaman X Collection!


	11. Storming the Erasers

Disclaimer: ...you know.

**Chapter 10: Storming the Erasers**

Ikijuka Desert  
Time:  
-19:04-

A small sand armadillo moved its head hesitantly out from its grainy home. It peered around for a bit looking for any possible food or dangers. Slowly, it crawled towards what appeared to be a source of food. It was bright, and appeared to split into many different brightly colored objects. Suddenly, each bright dot grew bigger and brighter with each passing second. A slight rumble on the ground told the little 'dillo that it should retreat. It quickly went towards its home as the ground shook even more and a roaring sound was now audible. As it ducked into its sanctuary, it took one last look at the impending foodstuff of doom before ducking back into the barely visible hole. Moments later, a countless number of speeding Landchasers flew over the desert, distorting the wind and ambiance as they went.

The Hunters flew through the desert with incredible speed. Locke and Stryke caught up to Megaman X, who was up towards the front of the pack.

"Hey, X! We almost there yet?" Stryke yelled out. X looked at him a pointed towards his helmet comm.

"Whoops. Forgot." Stryke turned on his comm and then tuned to X's frequency.

"X, how close are we to their base?"

"About 50,000 meters. The 4th and 0th will be dismounting soon."

"All right. Let's do it!" Stryke yelled out loud. Zero had gotten used to the speed and was a bit more courageous. He readied his weapons programs, particularly the Renzukuken and his all-time favorite, the Zantezuken. X turned his head to say something.

"Ok, Zero. Get ready to dismount. 10,000 meters. 9,500 meters."

"Alright, 0th! Ready for dismount!" Zero yelled in his comm, upsetting his entire squad.

"8,500!"

"_It's time for you to awaken..._"

"7,000!"

"Time for _who _to awaken?" Zero said in his comm.

"6,500!"

"Zero, what are you talking about?" Leyna snapped back at him. Zero made some weird sounds in the back of his throat.

"But someone said, 'It's time to wake up!', or somethin' like that!"

"5,500...SHIT! Zero! Hold ON!"

"HUH!" Zero said as he was jerked to the left. Seconds later, an explosion shook the area violently.

"Dammit! What was that for?" Zero asked, regaining his poster.

"Zero, tell the 0th and the 4th that they're gonna have to dismount early! We're under fire!" X exclaimed.

"Ok! Attention 0th and 4th! We will dismount early! Watch for my signal!" Zero yelled as the 0th and 4th got ready, all eyes on him. Zero also stood up slowly.

"Commander X! There's a huge barricade obstructing the path! Everyone must dismount!" A hunter in the 11th yelled over the comm.

"No! I'll destroy the wall! 17th, drop your speed to 80!"

"X, what the hell are you doing!" A squeaky female voice was heard over the abused comm.

"Alia, don't worry. I won't injure myself _this_ time." X said as a faceplate and black visor appeared over his face. He jerked right this time to avoid a blue beam, then hopped the Landchaser over a barrage of smaller, faster bullets.

"All right Zero, I'm gonna hit my front brakes, while you time your jump for maximum propulsion. With some luck, you should land over the wall. Then, get as far left or right of it as possible, because I'm gonna ram my Chaser into it."

Zero was motion sick by this time. "YOU'RE GONNA DO WHAT?" Zero shrieked out in horror.

"Zero, NOW!" X cried out as he pulled the Chaser's front air brakes, causing the rear of it to rise to a 90 degree angle. This resulted in Zero getting flung from the seat he was in like a catapult. While airborne, Zero hit the camo-shielding device and became invisible.

As he flew towards the wall, he saw many a brigade of Outpost reploids lined up, ready to go. X backed up a few meters and gunned his engines. He also switched the Chaser's weapon plasma to the engine output, set the drive mode to autopilot, and began charging his buster. About 2,000 meters from the wall, he stood up on the seat and charged his dash output to plus sixty percent and burst mode. Then, he jumped just as the bursting dash energy discharged from his boots. He sent himself into a jumping swan dive, arms spread out. He looked down to see a group of Outpost reploids move in Zero's direction. He looked down at the customized landchaser that tore a hole in the wall. This caused a massive explosion that rattled the soon to be battlefield. X landed with a thud on a pile of snow. As soon as he landed he let loose his overcharged buster and tore a hole through a few ranks of the Outpost. He turned towards the base and thrusted a hand forward.

"Hunters, attack!" Waves of ride chasers spilled in from the hole in the wall. As the 17th began their attack on the Outpost, Zero met up with his unit and the invisible 4th. "Alright guys. Tune in." Zero listened intensely to a channel in his comm.

"_Zero...the time is near...it's almost time to spread the vaccine..._"

Zero gripped his forehead and let out a low growl. "0th! Go with the 4th!" "Roger that. All right guys let's go!" Zero said as the 0th and 4th charged towards the defense turrets. They waited for a moment. Three of the eight guards received a long range surprise. The rest were busy trying to fend off the Hunters.

Zero scaled the wall to check for any opposition. Sure enough he found what he was looking for. Ten or so guards that were readying the defense turrets scrambled about in the confusion. Smirking, Zero pounced on the nearest guard and cleaved him in half. Startled, the rest of the guards turned to see a glowing saber dancing closer to them. It suddenly dashed forward to gut out the point man. Then the saber jumped into the air and began spinning rapidly. Three unlucky Erasers met their end by plasma cannon while watching the dancing saber. A crimson figure suddenly warped in front of them. They wasted no time in surrounding their attacker before realizing who it was.

Zero caught the saber and replaced it in its holster. "I-it-it's the crimson devil!" He couldn't help but smirk as they cowered. He took a step towards his prey and watched their expression before a sudden ache consumed his cranium. "No! Ugh, What the hell!" Zero cringed and held his head. He let out a loud howl as everything he saw took on a reddish tint. The once horrified guards saw this and took the opportunity to attack the demon.

The first one to strike met his end by a torrent of plasma pellets. The second and third received kneed stomachs and rifle butted heads. The last few found themselves falling from the forty foot tower window.

Zero opened his eyes and saw the blurry figure of a slender woman over him. He checked his most recent system log.

**-Log # 5787.31.00.03:Critical Operating System Error-  
****-Log # 5788.31.00.03:EMERGENCY RESTART-  
****-Log # 5789.31.00.03:Emergency restart successful-**

"Zero! Zero!" A voice said to him. His vision cleared up enough for him to stand up. He turned towards the source of the voice and saw Leyna, staring at him with glossy eyes. "Hey...what happened?" Zero said in a shaky voice. Leyna immediate smiled and almost lunged at him for a hug. "Zero, you were clutching your head like you were in pain. Are you okay now?" She asked worriedly. Zero shook his head and gave her a smile.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. How's the situation?"

"We just marked the area for the 23rd and the 1st. Now we just have to get out of here." Zero nodded as the duo walked towards the window. Leyna jumped first while Zero looked at the ruined room one last time before leaping to the ground. Then a thought struck him.

"Leyna, were you crying?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

X rolled left to avoid a volley of charged plasma bursts, then countered with a half charged blast from his buster. Locke ran forward with her gauntlet blades spinning at full force. Plasma rounds threatened her but were quickly dismissed when they collided with the rotating blade. She threw a punch at an Eraser, which caused the blade to tear cleanly into him. She withdrew her blade and delivered a spinning kick into his abdomen. Two more Erasers lunged at her from opposite sides with energy broadswords. She disengaged the rotation of each blade and parried the two attackers. Locke ducked under a swung blade and swept the feet from under the right side attacker. Rolling behind the other attacker, she thrust a blade into his chest from his back, just missing his power core. As he fell limp, she hopped over the fallen enemy towards the one that was still in the air from the sweep kick. While airborne, she brought a blade down vertically across his midsection. Locke withdrew her weapons back into her gauntlets and looked for another target. Behind her was a mess of blood stained snow and severed reploids. Her tactics were brutal, but effective.

Stryke was behind what seemed like a wrecked supply box. He was waiting for them to pounce on him. He had a few rounds left in his rifle, and he needed those for later. So he waited. The shuffling of the snow around him quickened. Suddenly, four Erasers fell on him. Or rather _through_ him. They looked surprised as the hologram of Stryke flickered. They looked horrified when they realized they were on a grenade. The elusive Hunter landed on the ground next to the hologram and picked up the emitter. He went over and joined X and Locke.

"Seems like we whittled down their frontline already?" Stryke said looking around at the 17th.

"Yea, I expected a lot more resistance." Locke said.

"I have a gut feeling something's not right." X said to his two subordinates.

Beep-

"_X. What's your situation?_" A female voice came over his comm.

"Alia, we just drove back the remaining Eraser forces. We have minimal casualties. Also..."

"_What is it, X?_"

"Alia, this whole thing doesn't sit well with me. It's almost like they are rushing fighting us blindfolded."

"_I was thinking the same thing. The perimeter defenses are ready for demolition as well. This was _too_ easy... Please stay safe, X._"

"I will. Over and out."

Beep-

Scar and Rayne mounted up on a hover bike. He activated the bike's weapon system and directed the power into the engine. They needed to get far away from here. They needed to find Echo. They needed to let the Hunters stop the cannon.

"Scar. It's almost over. All those years of suffering. It's all going away." Rayne said as he revved the engines.

"I know. As soon as we find Echo, we can leave this city." Scar said as he launched the bike from the bay. They sped away from the hellish place they refuse to call home into the dark, cold night.

The hunters of the 17th, 4th, and 0th stood waiting for the 23rd Heavyarms Unit to blow a hole in the side of the fortress. The battle on the frontlines lasted for little more than 45 minutes, so the 23rd were surprised when they had to deploy 20 minutes ahead of schedule. X sat down with Zero, Locke, Stryke and Leyna to discuss how they would go about getting rid of this monster cannon.

"Okay. We know that dispersing plasma into the cannon itself will cause it to get rid of the chem agent. But judging by the quick frontline battle, I think it's going to be a challenge trying to even get close to it." Zero said to his fellow hunters.

"Not a problem. Echo told me she knows some security defaults as well as where the cannon is located." X interjected. He looked around for the brown haired girl. "Um, where is she?"

"Echo said she needed a moment to recollect. She's over there." Zero said pointing over towards the rear of the unit.

"X, I've been meaning to ask you. Why did you agree to let that woman be a hunter? No offense, but you are the _last_ person I would expect to let an enemy, who threatened your life might I add, join the Hunters." Stryke asked his superior with an anxious voice. X looked over at Zero, who returned his glance.

"Well, a few years back, before you guys joined, Arcadia was destroyed. You remember the name of the syndicate, right?"

"Wasn't it Silph, or something like that?" Locke perked up.

"Yes. Back then, there was a small resistance group that started retaliating against Silph. They informed us that Silph was a huge threat to Neo Asia. We ignored them at first because we had our hands full with the remaining Maverick organizations. Within that group was Echo herself." Locke, Stryke and Leyna all gasped. Zero nodded his head sagely.

"Along with her was Scar, Rayne and a prototype reploid, Raydia. Those three disbanded when Silph was eliminated. Scar joined the hunters, Echo and Rayne laid low for a while before being forced into the present day Maverick Corps." Everyone let out another gasp, Zero included.

"They were forced in!" Stryke said mystified.

"Yes. Apparently..." X stopped. He suddenly remembered that he was supposed to keep that last part a secret.

"Apparently?" Leyna prodded. X was saved by an announcement. "The 23rd is here! Everybody move behind them!" The group got up and moved to the designated location.

The 23rd consisted of two large tanks with over-the-top artillery. This unit is a new addition to the Hunters, which came into play after the Silph incident. The 23rd was designed to be anti-air, artillery, basically destruction on treads. If these things didn't put a dent in the wall, then nothing would.

"All right! Plug your ears!" One of the tank commanders yelled out. Echo ran over to the group and sat down. Everyone did so and patiently waited. The snow falling from the clouds above started to pick up pace. Then both the tanks simultaneously fired their plasma emitters. At first, the already quiet ambience grew even quieter. Then the entire area lit up with an unusual bright light, followed by a deafening roar of condensed energy being discharged at once. When the light faded back into darkness and the sound faded, the Hunters looked towards the cannon.

The front end of both tanks were glowing with intense bluish white, and were cackling with energy. The snow on the ground in the area around the line of fire was gone; not melted, but replaced by a sheet of solid crystalline glass. Also, there was no snow falling in the area. Those cannons were definitely a force to be reckoned with. Zero was the first person to observe the damage done by the cannons. His eyes went wide.

"No...frickin'...way..." The wall attacked by the large tanks stood as firm as it had been before the 23rd arrived. Aside from a burnt spot, the wall was relatively unscathed. "X, that's not good, is it?" Leyna asked, knowing the answer to her question.

"Hold on." X ducked raised a hand to his helmet and connected with his comm link.

Beep-

"Alia. What's the status of the 1st?"

"_One moment...X, the 1st doesn't have enough fuel to make it there with an air strike. All of the spare fuel was used to get the 23rd there so quickly._"

"Dammit..." X engaged in serious thinking for a while. He decided on a solution. "Ok. That's what I'll do. Over and out."

"_X, what do you mean 'that's what I'll do'!_"

"I'll be fine Alia."

"_X!_"

Beep-

X stood up and looked around at his fellow Hunters. They all gave him curious glances. He looked at the buster cannon on his left arm.

"X, what are you planning to do?" Locke asked her commander suspiciously. X activated his left arm cannon and set it to hyper mode. The gauntlet morphed into a huge arm cannon. It had silver and black trimming with multiple vents for air cooling.

"You guys stand back." He walked over to where the tanks were and pointed his cannon towards the door. Plasma particles began to swirl around him.

"X! Zero, what's he doing!" Stryke asked the red hunter.

"I don't know. Looks like he's planning to blow the door up." Zero said without looking at Stryke. X stood steady with his buster arm extended. The hunters that swarmed around the door instinctively ran behind the rapidly charging reploid. The buster now glowed with intense fury. X checked his cannon's power output. '96' he kept charging until he came to the limit.

**-WARNING: POWER OUTPUT AT MAXIMUM-**

X closed his eyes as he broke through the limiter and pushed the charge to 150. The buster radiated with intense pressure and now had a scarlet glow. He opened the vents, releasing tremendous pressure from the cannon.

"Ohmigod! He's gone nuts!" Locke exclaimed as she gazed at the powerhouse. The stray plasma particles in the air were drawn towards the ebony clad hunter. The sound from the charging buster escalated into a ghostly scream. X placed his free hand on the now trembling cannon to keep it steady. He activated the face guard on his helmet and opened his eyes. His once green colored eyes were now teeming with bright white. A surge of white energy coursed over his body in waves and collected in the buster.

"Zero! That's his E.X.!" Leyna screamed, seeing as how talking could not be heard.

"Tell me about it!" Zero said. He was caught by surprise when a massive shockwave emanated from Megaman X. "Brace yourselves!" Zero said as he desperately clung for the ground. Everyone was thrown back as the shockwave erupted.

Now for the final phase. X leapt into the air and start glowing with intense amber. Metallic wings sprouted from his back as surges of golden energy flowed into his buster. The dozens of warning alarms going off in his head screamed at his to stop. Ignoring them, X flew towards the door and let loose the blast with a battle cry.

The colors of the world inverted as time seemed to stop. As the colors faded back to normal, X was thrown back a great distance into the side of the tank. The plasma wave emitted from X's buster charged through the entire side of the building and disintegrated the structure of the building. This left a gaping hole in the both the base and on a lot of peoples faces.

"WOOO!" Zero yelled, looking at the destruction left by Megaman X. A visible distortion could be seen in the air where the plasma wave traveled.

"_Where's X!_" A distraught Alia yelled through Zero's comm.

"Don't know. Hopefully, he's still on Earth." Zero answered back.

"_ZERO! GO FIND HIM!_"

"Ok, _mom_!" Zero said as he dashed off towards the tanks. He was followed by the rest of the gang. They reached the tanks and took in a horrible sight. There, up on the side of the large, double fortified armor of the tank, was a large X shaped cut out. Even worse, the shape continued through the tank, indicating that X was thrown through the entire tank.

"Goddammit, X..." Zero said as he sprinted around to the back of the tank. The rest followed with worried expressions. The scene they saw further enforced their fears. The Hunters were surrounding X, who was lying in a pile of snow. But that's all he was doing. Just lying there.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Okay. I'm back! With a vengeance, might I add. If you've read what I have so far in Birth of a Demon, then you have read a bit of a spoiler. But forget about that for now. I have found new vigor to complete this story. I will update this fiction as much as possible. Special thanks to Archaon, for his reviews. And sorry for the three-month update! Until next time!

P.S.

I like cliffhangers...

How about you?


	12. Weapon Evolution

Disclaimer: This hardly needs to be said. Don't own it. Don't care. Don't sue.

**Chapter 11: Weapon Evolution**

Outpost Orion  
Time:  
-20:06-

"X! X!"

"Commander! Please respond!"

"Come on, X!"

Voices ran through his head as he lay there. Megaman X had knocked himself unconscious with that last stunt he pulled. He searched his systems for any damage. He was all green, except that his back was killing him.

X opened his eyes to see a grinning Zero, shocked Leyna, and various other expressions on the faces of the other Hunters.

"X, whatever you tried to do, you sure as hell did it!" Stryke said as the ebony clad hunter was helped to his feet.

"Um, X what exactly did you do?" Locke asked eagerly.

"I overcharged my cannon." X said nonchalantly. "To be more elaborate, I stuffed all of the spare plasma, plus my Giga Attack energy, all that amplified by the E.X."

"And you shot it all at the door!" Stryke stated rather asked. They were even more stunned when X shook his head.

"I knew that after that stunt, I wouldn't be able to use the charge on the buster anymore. So I stuffed what I could into the spare energy capsules and energy and weapon tanks I had. It'll come in handy for the cannon itself." X was rewarded with a round of applause. He couldn't help but smile.

"So, exactly _how much_ of the blast did you let loose?" Leyna asked her friend.

"About 20 for the door, and about 30 in the capsules and tanks." X said looking at the smoke filled hallway. "The other half had to be absorbed. So I use my own life energy." X received mixed emotions. Leyna stood with a dropped jaw. Stryke looked like he was on a different planet. Zero was mentally writing a note to try something even crazier.

"All clear!" A voice rang out, letting everyone know that the way was clear. The entire group ran towards the base. Zero caught up with X.

"That was freakin' awesome X! Where'd you learn to do that?"

"By theory. Don't tell Alia if she asks."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The hunters assumed their positions on the frontlines. Stryke and Locke volunteered to take point. Leyna and Zero were next in line, and last were X and Echo. The long hallway had many different types of plants growing along the walls. They gave the place a natural feel.

"Wow, quite the scene huh?" Leyna said to no one in particular.

"Eck. This reminds me of Split Mushroom's Base of Operations." Zero retorted. As they moved through the building, they reached the hall. It was a massive area with many consoles. A huge podium dominated the center of the room. Questions came up as the point hunters stopped suddenly. Strewn throughout the room was a mess of reploid bodies and blood stained walls. Some of the consoles were smashed, and there were numerous cracks in the surrounding walls.

"What the hell happened here?" Zero said, getting suspiciously. The rest of the crew walked into the room and were taken aback. Echo quickly ran up to one of the bodies. X walked up to her.

"Damn it! Damn it all!" Echo said, punching the ground. X noticed that the deceased body had a slight tinge of green neonic glow to it.

"Echo, what's wrong with these bodies?" X asked suspiciously.

"That bastard Orion must have released a batch of Weapon Alpha on some of the soldiers!"

"What! Then that means..." X was cut off when a rather loud scream was audible from down the corridor. Zero ran down the hall but stopped short when the body of a reploid smashed into the wall. The reploid in question proceeded to cough up a large amount of blood and drop the box he had in his hands. He ceased functioning while embedded in the wall. Zero looked down the hall at the culprit. He almost immediately retreated back as soon as he got down the hall. He was followed by a pair of reploids.

The Hunters in the room took defensive stances as the two new enemies tore into the room. The two reploids had amber shaded eyes. Both had the stench of death upon them. Locke quivered at the sight. Echo growled at the monstrosities challenging them.

"Guys. These soldiers have an evolved form of Weapon Alpha. Be _extremely_ cautious." Echo warned. She hated this. She created a weapon that she never intended to let see the light of day. A weapon that would devastate Neo Asia. She wishes that she never based the weapon on a sample of the Zero Virus.

"Evolved..." Zero pondered. "Heh, doesn't matter." The large male reploid charged forward towards X. Still a bit shaky from the energy trick, was a bit hesitant to dodge the charge. He closed his eyes and waited to absorb the blow. It never came, because Zero had jumped in front of him, knocking the charging reploid to the side in the process.

"X, come on, we need you alive, man." Zero said as he drew his saber and dashed at the reploid he knocked down. X shook his head and looked down at his buster.

"Heh, not much I can do." X said, clenching said buster.

Leyna was thrown into the ceiling by the smaller, but quicker female reploid. Echo, Stryke and Locke were surrounding the enemy, daring her to move. Locke activated her blades and went for the amber hued reploid's throat. She went for a high horizontal swipe with her right blade. With was countered with a ducking punch into her gut. While she was doubling over, a sweeping kick took the ground from under her. Another punch sent her sliding across the floor. Stryke helped her up before pulled a handle from his back. He extended the handle into a quarterstaff. It was his turn now. He reeled back and swung the staff as he charged forward. As the staff connected, he pulled it straight back and swung the opposite end at the weaponized reploid's face. As he did so, Echo jumped onto her back and began rapidly driving her elbow into the enemy's skull. Leyna finally dislodged herself from the ceiling. She helped Locke off the ground, who promptly pulled out two short daggers and charged back at the demon.

Zero was having a bit of trouble keeping the large reploid at bay. With X immobilized, it was a quite a challenge keeping this reploid at bay. Zero gave a spin kick to the monster's face and sent it airborne. He proceeded to check on X.

"X, you ok?"

"Yeah. Zero, don't mind me. I can handle him myself."

"Sit down, X. I got him." Zero said to his friend while holstering his saber. "_Damn. Plasma has no effect on him. Hand to hand is the only way to go..._"

Zero rushed forward to the large foe and shoulder charged him. Big mistake. It felt like he had slammed into a double-layered digibrick wall. He heard the gears in his shoulder whir unhappily. The pain that followed was dull. He winced as he jumped back. He had done it now. There was no way for him to stop the hulking reploid from destroying him now. He closed his eyes as the giant stepped closer to him. The footsteps grew louder, but then quickly faded. Zero opened his eyes to see the giant walking right towards X. Ignoring his pained shoulder, Zero ran at the reploid with full charge. Attempting to knock him down, Zero tried a swift kick to the back of his neck. Another big mistake. The shoulder that pained him now made a series of mechanical snaps and pops. As he landed on the ground, on his shoulder, he heard one final crack and howled out in pain. The big reploid continued marching towards X, unaffected by Zero's desperation attack.

"_No, it's targeting X! Dammit! Can't move...my arm...!_"

Zero looked over at the other Hunters. Stryke was pummeling the possessed reploid with his quarterstaff while Echo was on her back, smashing her head in with her elbow. Locke was rushing in with digisteel daggers.

"Gah!" Zero whipped around to see X being lifted off of the ground; his neck ensnared by the larger reploid's hand. Try as he might, Zero found himself unable to help his friend.

"Dammit! Wha?" Zero almost completed, but stopped when the world around him went black. He saw a light begin to build around his bruised arm. As if he was a marionette, he was lifted off the ground. As his arm became engulfed in the chill light, he felt the pain starting to ease. The multiple hairline cracks that started to form in his armor reversed themselves into nothing. He looked around for any indication that this was a dream.

"_Zero. Yourmission is not complete. You must continue to live on until you complete that mission..._"

"...Who are you..." Zero asked, looking around for the source of the voice. The light around him started to fade.

"WHO ARE YOU!" Zero was seemingly dropped back into the battle. He looked around for the reploids. The smaller female had Locke under her heel, along with Stryke pinned against the wall and Echo still on her back, but just barely. The larger reploid had both X and Leyna lifted off of the ground, trying to choke the rest of the life out of them. Zero slowly walked towards the large reploid. He drew out his saber and from it ignited a cackling violet blade. His slow walk picked up in pace. His eyes now teemed with a swirl of the darkness of abyss and the brightness of salvation. He was now in a dead sprint.

X looked down at the sinister reploid using his neck as a stress reliever and struggled to hang on. Suddenly, he found himself on the ground, gasping for large amounts of air. A second later, Leyna repeated the same action. Next to each of them lie a humungous hand. The large reploid howled out horrendously as his arms became severed. He stumbled back and eyed the smaller reploid in front of him with fear. His world became red with each passing second. Looking down, he saw his bottom half falling over on the ground while shrinking. Then he began to spin, finally colliding with the wall.

Zero now turned his glance over to the remaining reploid, who had stopped her actions to watch what happened to her partner. Zero wasted no time in giving chase. Panicked, the reploid made for a hallway, throwing Echo off of her back as she did so. She was almost at the entrance when a searing hot sensation pierced through her heart. She looked down to see a bright purple plasma blade protruding from her chest. As the blade exited, she collapsed on the ground, lifeless.

Spinning the silver hilt around his fingers, he replaced the saber and closed his eyes, hoping to shake off whatever was possessing him. Turning around, he opened his eyes and gave his team a smirk.

"Are you guys alright?" Zero asked everyone, taking a step forward. He felt a presence move behind him. Whirling around, he was just in time to see the reploid swing a beam at his head. Zero instinctively ducked under the swipe, but would not be able to dodge the vertical blow, so he crossed his arms out in front of him.

The weaponized reploid dropped her weapon and slumped over after a loud explosion filled the room. Zero lowered his guard and looked down at the headless reploid before spotting Axl standing over him, pistols drawn. He picked up the box after he put his pistols away.

"Where's X?" Axl asked, stepping over Zero. Locke raised her hand as Axl made his way over to the nearly dead reploid. Zero dusted himself off as he picked himself up.

"Nevermind him, Axl. Where the hell were _you_?" The crimson hunter chided. Axl shot up a forefinger, telling him to wait a moment.

"Where's his energy compartment?" Axl said while scanning X's armor for an energy slot. Zero sighed and knelt down next to the unconscious reploid. He pressed a button near X's collar and the upper chest layer of the Ultimate Armor slid back.

"Give me an energy capsule." Zero said, not looking at Axl. Axl fished out the largest capsule he could find from the box and handed it over to Zero. Zero proceeded to place it into a slot in the armor.

"So Axl, where exactly were you?" Locke asked the red headed reploid. Axl grinned as he stood up.

"After X blew a hole in the wall, I simply copied the DNA of one of the soldiers we beat up. After that I ran into the medical ward, with help of some of my 'comrades' and grabbed a box of capsules. But in the ward, I ran into those two reploids." Axl said the last part while nodding over to the destroyed reploids.

"So, where were you during the attack?" Stryke asked the shorter reploid. Axl turned his grin to him.

"Almost dying in the wall over there!" He pointed at the imprint in the wall.

"So, _why_ did you go in the first place?" Leyna asked. Still wearing his grin, Axl turned to her.

"See this unconscious heap right here?" Axl said.

"Zero?"

"Unconscious _heap_, not unconscious _head_." Zero looked up at Axl with a pulsing vein, visible through his helmet.

"Oh! X!"

"Yep! Besides, I think we could all use the energy." Axl said, tossing each of them an energy capsule. X stood up slowly but surely.

"Thanks, everyone." He said, his voice monotonic. He tapped his comm link and finally answered the wailing signal.

Beep-

"_X! Respond!_"

"Megaman X, reporting sir."

"_Thank Light! X, I hate to pressure you, but you _must _find that cannon!_"

"Sir, we're in the process of locating the cannon as we speak."

"_Alright. Be careful, hunter._"

"Will do, sir. Over and out."

Beep-

"All right guys. If we do this right, we can all sleep without fear tonight." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Echo, you can still lead us to the cannon?"

"Yeah. There's an elevator just down this hallway. It'll lead us to the armory basement."

"Ok. Let's go..."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Another one bites the dust...Yay! Not much to say right now, but stay tuned for more chapters! The end is nigh, and quickly approaching. Till next time!


	13. Advent Peril, Plot Revealed

Disclaimer: Don't own MMX. Never will.

**Chapter 12: Advent Peril...Plot Revealed**

Ikijuka Desert  
Time:  
-20:39-

Scar and Rayne jumped the hoverbike over a frozen dune. They had done it; they had finally escaped from the hell in their lives. Scar scanned the wide area before them. Clear. He eased on the brakes and pulled the bike to a stop.

"Ok. That should do it." Scar said to Rayne. They disembarked the hovercraft and set up a signal repeater. Scar pulled out what seemed to be a capsule of sorts. Throwing it on the ground, the capsule blew out puffs of white gas. When the smoke cleared, an off white colored tent stood where the capsule was thrown.

"Scar?" Rayne peeped out sheepishly. Scar raised an eyebrow at his seemingly shy companion.

"Huh? What's up?" Scar returned nonchalantly. Rayne hesitated for a bit.

"What's going to happen now? I mean, we didn't exactly kill Orion, and Echo should be at the base now. Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Mmhmm. If she does what she is supposed to, she should be here in a couple of hours." Scar said. Rayne nodded and started to walk elsewhere. "Rayne, wait a sec..." Scar called out suspiciously. The girl stopped dead in her tracks.

"W-what's wrong?" She asked, sweat beading on forehead. Scar walked over towards her.

"I thought _you_ were the one who told _me _what the plan was." Rayne turned slowly towards the tall male, all while hiding her face.

"Oh, yea. Right. Heh heh..." Rayne said while berating herself silently. She began to blush a deep red. Scar noted this and decided to ask.

"Um. Is there a reason why you're..." He was cut off as he felt a pair of hands pull his head down some, followed by warm lips pressing forcibly against his own. He looked down at Rayne, who was closer to him then he had noticed and put two and two together. He was shocked, but found that he had put his arms around the small of her back. Once the kiss eased up some, Scar pressed forward, prolonging the kiss.

This went on for a minute before they broke off in order to get air into their synthetic lungs.

"...blushing?" Scar ended his statement, still startled. Rayne nodded with a bit more confidence then she had before. She looked up at him and gave him a warm smile. He returned her smile with one of his own and pulled her into an embrace.

"Scar? Do you think we'll have to go back? You know, to go get her in case things don't work out...?"

"I hope we don't. I hope we don't..."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Outpost Orion - Armory Elevator  
Time:  
-20:41-

A soft hum filled the middle sized elevator. Zero was leant up against a wall, observing the scene in front of him. X was over in the other corner talking to someone over his comm. Probably Alia. Echo was keeping Axl company, Stryke and Locke were alone in a corner, and Leyna was leaning against the same wall as Zero. He closed his eyes and began thinking.

"(_Man. As soon as we reach this cannon, and blow it the hell up, I think I'll hit the bar._)"

"_There won't be time for that, Carrier._"

"(_! You again! Who are you!_)"

"_The time is nigh, Carrier. Soon, all will be as it should._"

"(_What are you talking about...Why do you refer to me as _'_Carrier_')"

"_Carrier, you will lead us. It is your sole purpose._"

"Zero? Are you okay?" A soft voice broke through his mental struggle. He snapped his eyes open to find Leyna looking at him curiously. Zero shook his head, as if clearing his mind.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He responded.

"You sure? Your face didn't say so." Leyna said, placing a hand on her hip. Zero looked confused.

"Could you elaborate, please?"

"Well first you had a normal expression, then a miffed one, after that a disgruntled face." She explained while showing him the faces he made.

"Ah, just one of the many qualities that makes me, well, me!" He exclaimed with a large grin. She smiled back at the bold blonde hunter.

"So, Zero, what do you plan to do after this thing is over?" She said while inching closer to him. He placed a hand to his chin and began to mock ponder, already knowing the answer to the question.

"Hmm. I think I'll spend some time at the bar." He said with a hollow grace.

"Oh. So I guess you won't be attending the party?" She asked disappointedly.

"Nah. I don't hang around much during this time of the year..." Zero said, his voice trailing off.

It turned out that tomorrow is the grim anniversary that Zero would never let himself forget. The day that would torment him possibly for the rest of his life. The day he would and did cry out all of his tears. The day he lost a huge part of himself. If only he had listened. If they had seen eye to eye, then maybe this day wouldn't exist. And he would still be here. _And her_. Maybe he wouldn't have to disappear for days. Maybe he would be happier. He would be able to embrace her, to be with her. To be able to fight with her and to be able to forgive each other. Today is the day that Zero was forced to kill Colonel, and his love, Iris.

"Zero. Did something happen?" Leyna asked, almost striking the head on the nail. He almost let out a gasp. He had never told _anyone_ about his great pain. That beneath the cocky, bold exterior lies a cold, tormented soul. X was the only other person who knew why he was depressed beyond belief around this time. He about to whisper something to her, but was distracted as the rising lights from the lift slowed down.

"I'll tell you later." He said, forcing a smirk. As he walked over towards the elevator doors, Leyna thought she saw a tear flick away from his eye.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Final Objective: Destroy Outpost Nuclear Cannon  
Status: In action  
Time: 20:46

"Okay, we have one minute till we reach the bottom. We can expect more of those evolved soldiers as well as some heavy blast doors. The outpost Supreme Commander, Orion, should be in the same room as the cannon as well. After we dispose of the cannon, we will short range transit jump to the waypoint set up by the 4th." Echo gave her speech, making sure that each hunter knew what was to be expected. They all nodded in response and broke off into battle formation: Echo and Axl in front; X, Zero and Leyna in the middle; and Stryke and Locke in the rear. They all readied their busters and rifles, coupled with a dagger or saber of sorts, waiting for the lift doors to open.

The elevator lights turned green, signaling that the doors will open. The doors slid open slowly, letting in the orange hued light of the hallway before them. The hunters stood ready, bracing themselves for the weaponized super soldiers.

As the doors opened fully, they stepped out into the hall. An odd, thick odor filled the hall. Echo knew the smell very. After all, she _was_ the lead chemist of the Weapon Alpha team. They reached the first corner. Rounding it, they were met with the presence of bloodstained walls and more dead reploids. But these reploids had been subjugated by Weapon Alpha. Somebody, or some_thing_, had been here before.

"Well, that takes care of the super soldiers..." Axl muttered. They continued walking until they came to a blast door. Echo scanned over the nearby console. She tried a few sets of key-codes she knew.

"Damn, they changed the codes." She said, pounding the panel with her fist. Leyna stepped forward towards the keypad.

"Here, let me give it a shot..." She closed her eyes and placed a hand over the panel. Soon, her fingers began to move at a blinding speed over the keys, inputting hundreds of codes a second. "Echo, how many doors are there besides this?" She said while opening her eyes, which darted around as if scanning data.

"There should be two more, but once the code for one door is entered, the rest should open up as well. There's the main blast door for the armory, which is un-coded. We'll use that to shield ourselves from the explosion." Locke looked around the hall. Was it? It was! It was faint, but she could hear sounds. It sounded like voices and violins. "Hey...do you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Stryke asked lowering his repeating rifle. He began hear a faint violin. "Yeah, I can hear something too. It sounds kinda...creepy..."

"Where's it coming from--AHH!" Locke cried out as something sharp pierced through her right shoulder. Everyone but Leyna turned around to see Locke getting pulled away from the group.

"Locke! Stryke cried out as he ran over to the flailing girl. She screamed out as the now visible chain tightened even more, causing the hook to dig deeper into her shoulder. The force from the hook thrusting into her shoulder shattered the spherical plating. Axl pulled out his Circle Blaze and fired repeatedly down the hall. Zero let out a string of shots from his Z-Buster along with X.

"Stryke, watch out!" Axl called out as he saw another foe. Stryke diverted his attention down the hall to see two large mechanoids. Both had hooked chains, one of them already deployed. Stryke jumped on the hallway wall and watched as the chain flew under him. He proceeded to bound off of it and grab the chain as it went limp. He pulled it with a great force and caused it to snap from its anchor. Locke had managed to painstakingly free herself by severing the chain with her free RSB. Though the hook was still embedded in her shoulder, she managed to start running back towards the group.

Only to have another hooked chain snag her right thigh. And another wrap around her left bicep. Now she was being pulled back even quicker. "Ah, shit!" She howled out as she slowly slid back. Stryke cursed as he ran back to help his friend.

"It's done! We need to hurry!" Leyna shouted out as she completed the hacking. "As soon as the doors open, there will be a ten second window before they shut and the codes reset!" The three hunters stopped firing and got ready to dash.

"Wait! What about Locke!" Stryke called out, finding himself in a panic.

"There's no time! The doors are open!" Echo shouted out.

"You guys go ahead! Forget about me! S-stop the cannon! Ahh!" Locke choked out as a cord reached out and wrapped around her midsection.

The group dashed off through the doors towards the heart of the massive armory. Stryke chose not to go, helping his friend instead. She seemed to be losing life energy as she struggled. She saw Stryke draw out a plasma blade and hack through the chains. He then held on to her gingerly as he tried to get them closer to the door.

"Hah...hah...Stryke...what are you doing? You should go...with the rest of them..." Locke said through rushed breaths. "No, dammit. I'm not going to leave you. I swore it. I...I won't let another person I love die in front of me..." Stryke said, his voice firm, but a bit shaky. Locke looked over at him as he guided her to the door.

"Stryke...please, there's still time...get out of here! I don't want you to die..." She begged, coughing up a small amount of red fluid. The door in front of them slammed shut, with the codes resetting.

"I won't..._you_ won't..." Stryke said as he drew out his plasma rifle. "We **will** live to see tomorrow!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Axl rolled through the doors in the nick of time. He quickly clambered to his feet and observed his surroundings. The large room had a green hue to it. There, in the center of it, was their main objective: the Alpha Cannon. And some strange kind of music that had been growing louder while then ran through the hallway was playing faster: an organ, violin and voices. Echo motioned X to step forward with her.

"Stryke...Locke..." X muttered under his breath. "X, once the cannon is destroyed, those two will be fine." Echo said somewhat reassuringly. "How so?"

"If you turn off an electrical transformer, all electric items stop functioning, right?" She said, giving half of the analogy. X caught on to it and rushed over towards the cannon.

"So, when this thing goes, so do the mechanoids!" X said out loud as he reached the cannon.

"X, you think you hurry a little bit!" Axl called out. X turned to see and hear a small battle with Zero, Leyna and Axl against some reploids with Alpha in their systems. Echo found the control access panel and opened it. X pulled out the plasma capsules he made earlier. He checked back to see the fighting hunters backed up against the wall. Strange...

"(_I would have expected more resistance. They should be defending the cannon. It's almost like they _want_ us to destroy it._)"

"X, the core is open!" Echo called out. X turned his attention to the cannon's exposed core, which burned a bright green. He placed the capsules in the core and set the last one to a timed release. After that he slammed the casing shut and jumped down from the barrel of the large weapon. Echo and X took off towards the entrance. The other three had managed to push the uncoordinated enemies into a far corner.

"Let's go, guys!" Echo called out as she stepped through the blast doors. Zero, Leyna and Axl took off at full throttle towards the doors. As they were hurtling across the hall, Echo hit the close key for the door. The cannon began to shine brightly as Zero dove through the door. Axl rushed through, followed by Leyna. Right before the blast doors closed, bright flashes escaped into the hallway, along with a ton of shrapnel. There were two explosions, a loud screeching explosion that melded into an even larger one.

"_Good job, Hunters! Now, prepare to transit jump in five._" Alia's voice came over their comm links through the static.

"Alia, we have to find Stryke and Locke!"

"_Four..._"

"Can you hear me!" X cried out.

"_Three...two..._"

"Alia! Stop the transit!" It was no use, as the explosion interference caused the comm link waves to work one way.

"_...one. Transfer!_"

"NO!" X cried out as the group was engulfed in a dull light.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

X opened his eyes, letting the cool air sting them briefly. He was outside the complex, which was actively burning. He looked around frantically for everyone. Zero. Leyna. Axl. Echo. Oh no...

"Where are they...Stryke and Locke...?" X asked as he stood upright. He looked at his teammates. Their response was grim, as they lowered their eyes. X felt a wrenching in his gut. No. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were **all** supposed to make it back alive. But wait...

X tapped furiously at his comm link. Now he waited for a connection.

-Beep-

"_X? Thank goodness! Is everyone alright?_"

"Alia, can you scan this area for our DNA signatures?"

"_Yes. One moment..._" X waited for her to complete the search.

"_X, I'm picking up five DNA sigs. Shouldn't there be seven? Who's missing?_"

"Try checking the Outpost."

"_...okay...no, nothing there. X, what happened?_"

"Can you do a wide area search?" X sounded like he was losing hope.

"_One second..._"

"Come on. Please turn up..." X whispered to himself as he crossed his hands.

"_X...I'm picking up three sigs: two are Stryke and Locke, one is unknown. They are about three hundred yards west of your current position._" X twirled around in said direction and started running. Alarmed, the rest of the group followed.

X squinted his eyes to sharpen up the image before him. There were indeed three figures. The one in the center was female, and appeared to be carrying the other two in her arms. She walked with a balanced, steady pace despite her having an extra four-hundred pounds in her arms. X waited as she drew closer to him. He could see her clearer now: she had sea blue armored boots, gauntlets and chest plate, with the breastplate portion pearl white; her hair was a faded tinge of blue.

The group behind X finally caught up and saw the girl carrying their missing teammates. As she came within eight feet of the group, they readied their weapons, ready for anything. The mystery woman set the two down on their backs on the ground, disregarding the edgy reploids. All was silent as she went about her business.

"Who are you?" X said while lowering his buster. He didn't drop it all the way, just enough to observe her actions. She finished setting the two down and stood up facing towards the ruined outpost.

"I'll ask again, who are you?" X said, this time his voice more firm. The girl turned her head towards the group.

"Your allies will survive. They have multiple abrasions and puncture wounds, but I have stopped the bleeding. Stryke's power cell is running at 73, Locke's at 64. Both require immediate energy sustenance." The mystery girl reported in a firm, almost drone-like tone. The group lowered their weapons. Axl immediately pulled out two spare energy capsules from his supply.

"Give me a hand, Leyna." He said, tossing her a capsule and walking over towards Stryke. She caught on and followed. The mystery reploid walked over towards X. His posture stiffened up as she came closer. When she was kissing distance from him, she leant toward his ear and whispered: "Megaman X. Do not be alarmed." X's eyes went wide as the world around him began to slow rapidly to a crawl. The color started to drain, leaving everything a shade of black and white. Now, nothing moved, except for X and the mystery woman. To his left, he saw a ghostly image of himself and the girl, also frozen in black and white.

"Wha the hell!" X spat out, obviously surprised. He turned back towards the mystery girl. "What's going on? Just who are you?" She smiled as she took a big breath, for some unknown reason.

"You don't remember me? The Silph incident?" She started as if trying to jog his memory. He pondered for a bit longer. She held out her right hand and a red and black blade materialized in it. As she swung it around, it morphed into a sub-auto rifle. Now he knew!

"You...you're...Raydia...?" X stammered out. He was answered with a nod from her.

"Indeed. It has been a very long time."

"But, it doesn't make any sense. You died in the battle for Arcadia years ago."

"I did. But I cannot die until my mission is complete." She put the large rifle she had somewhere. X looked puzzled. "What do you mean by mission?" Raydia looked at him with a serious look.

"All beings have some kind of goal they must complete. Whether it is significant or trivial, that goal must be completed before they pass on. You, too, have a mission you must complete before you perish."

"A goal?" This was a lot a information he was receiving at one time. "What happens when a person dies before they complete their goal?"

"Though rare, if that should happen, that being will resuscitate and regress, depending on the severity of their cause of death and their mission. For example, when Zero died during the First Maverick War, he was rebuilt months later. When he died the during the Fifth Maverick War, he mysteriously appeared at a later time. This is an extremely rare case..."

"Meaning that his mission hasn't been completed yet..." X finished. "Raydia, is there some way to know what your mission is?"

"This again, is a rare case. There is usually no absolute way of knowing, but I know my goal." Raydia added. X looked at her with bewilderment. She drew in another quick breath and stated: "My mission, is to stop Paradise Eden from opening." Now it was X's turn to draw in a deep breath.

"Paradise Eden!" X felt a wrenching in his stomach.

"And X..." Raydia started slowly. A wave of ice ran through X's spine. "Zero is the Portal..."

X felt sick to his stomach. In the back of his mind, he knew that Zero would be used by someone again. But he never would have guessed that Zero would be used for Paradise Ede...wait.

"Raydia, exactly _what _is Paradise Eden?" X asked as the thought crossed his mind. Raydia's eyes dropped.

"Paradise Eden...is a world, no, a utopia for reploids, where the human race has been eradicated. A place where reploids can live of their own free will, without oppression." She said grimly. X suddenly felt a burst of rage and commitment.

"Raydia, does Zero know what's about to happen?"

"No, he does not. Currently, you and I are the only ones who know of this..."

"Right. And...it's better that no one else knows? At least early, correct?"

"Yes. The more people that know, the harder it will be to oppress Paradise Eden." Raydia said. She got ready to disperse the time field and gave X instructions. He nodded and ran over towards his frozen self. Trying his best to keep his exact pose pre-time field, Raydia dispersed the field with a snap. Everything broke apart and shattered like a glass pane, revealing moving life. X walked over towards the group as Raydia stood there and turned around.

"Okay, missy. Who the hell are you!" A disgruntled Zero spat out. X cringed a bit as Zero spoke. X looked at the girl in question and gave her a hidden nod.

"My name is Raydia Deltion." She said as the group gasped. They knew who she was, but not why she was really here. Zero had turned away from the group, unnoticed. Echo was hugging the life out of the poor newcomer, and the rest were shouting questions like none other at her. Stryke and Locke were alive and well, so they also were curious about their savior. And here he was, alone. Who was he kidding; he would always be alone. No one could ever fill her spot. He would be eternally lonesome. He closed his eyes.

"(_...damn it all..._)"

"_Carrier...the time has come to open the gates of Eden. The time has come to spread the Vaccine, for you are the Carrier and Portal for our perfect utopia. You won't be alone any longer._"

"(_Paradise? Eden? Who are you? What the hell do you want from me?_)"

"_You are the one who will lead us in opening the gates...you will become one of us...a Grand Arbiter. You will become **the** Grand Arbiter._"

"(_...go away. Leave me alone...I want nothing to do with your paradise..._)"

"You have no choice, Carrier." Zero snapped his eyes open to see a being dressed in a pure black robe looming over him. He could tell it was a male from his voice and burly size. "Orion!" Zero jumped back away from him. Right into another presence. He whirled around to see a smaller figure garbed in a similar green robe. His head resembled a canine.

"You must lead us, Carrier. Listen to Seeker Orion's words." Zero remembered his face. He was the 3rd Supreme Outpost Commander: Canis Major. Zero had a hunch of being surrounded and looked to his left. Sure enough, there was Cygnus: the 4th Supreme Commander, who was feminine. She was clothed in a red robe, and had wings of virgin silver. To his right, was Taurus, the 1st Commander, donned in yellow robes.

"Who are you! What do you want with me!" Zero shouted out, causing the group to pay attention to him. Cygnus stepped forward.

"We are Eden's Luminary Four." Taurus took a heavy step forward.

"And the time has come for you to open the gates to Paradise Eden."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, without further ado, the pre-climax of the story thus far. I finally busted through this writer's block while drawing out pictures. Well, scribbles actually. But don't get me wrong: I'm a damned good artist. On a side note, Birth of a Demon will be edited to make it fit in to this story. Because if you read this far, then you have read a bit of a spoiler. Anyway, I ahemneed some reviewsahem. So, uh, feel free to let me know how you feel about the plot. Until next time!


	14. Birth of a Greater Evil

Disclaimer: D...I...SCL...AIM...E...R...Disclaimer. YAY! I spelled it right! And you know what goes here!

**Chapter 13: Birth of a Greater Evil**

Ikijuka Desert  
Time:  
-20:55-

Axl, Echo, Leyna, Stryke, and Locke ran over towards the source of the commotion. X had another question to ask Raydia, so he beckoned her to fall back to the rear. "Raydia, I forgot to ask you earlier..." He started, keeping his voice low. She nodded for him to continue.

"If a being dies before they complete their mission and is resuscitated, what happens to them after they _do _complete their goal?" He inquired.

"Well, I don't know exactly. I believe they die..." She said nonchalantly. X gave her an accepting nod. "So, no one lives forever..."

The group approached the four figures standing around Zero, who was desperately trying to escape. The four figures then levitated into the air and formed a line. Zero retreated back into the familiar group, his face one filled with anger and confusion.

"Zero, what's going on?" Axl asked his fellow hunter, drawing his twin pistols. The large figure floated forward, taking the floor.

"Orion!" Echo yelled out in rage and surprise. She immediately drew her blades and performed a dashing jump towards her foes. Just as she was about to strike him, an unknown force repelled her, doing more than just a little bit of damage. As she fell back towards the ground, Axl dashed to catch her. He immediately set her down; he knew that she had shattered more than a few bones. She tried to suppress her pain through quick breaths, but that had little effect. "Bastard..." Axl muttered while looking up at the behemoth.

"Echo. I'm disappointed. Had you not betrayed my order, you would have had a place in Paradise Eden." This caused a gasp to leave everyone's mouth, with the exception of Zero, X and Raydia. Echo sat up, despite her excruciating pain.

"There...will be no...Paradise...Eden...you...bastard..." She started. After drawing in a few deep breaths and enough pain aside, she continued her decree.

"We destroyed that, hah, damned cannon..." She said the last part with a smirk. One word from Orion was all that was needed to dismiss her courage. "Fool."

"If you think that cannon was our way into Paradise Eden, then you are sadly mistaken. You _all _are sadly mistaken." Dread suddenly attacked everyone.

"You mean...the cannon...Weapon Alpha..." Stryke stammered. "Was all a ploy!" Leyna finished, not believing what she just heard. Taurus floated forward, ready to add on.

"Yes, you could call it a ploy. Fake, if you will. We do not aim for the destruction of reploids. That is quite the opposite." He floated back. Canis Major floated forward.

"Paradise Eden is a holy utopia for reploids. No human oppression whatsoever. The destruction of reploids would only serve to make our ultimate purpose obsolete. For what good is a utopia for us reploids, when we don't even exist? We, no, **you** have been destroying your brethren for too long. Our brothers and sisters that **you** destroyed cry out in pain. They cry to us: 'The Carrier has sided with the heretical doctrine.'" He said 'Carrier' while pointing at Zero.

"What the hell..."Zero said, trying to shake off the pain settling in his head. "Why do you refer to me as 'Carrier'!" Cygnus flapped her wings and floated forward.

"Simple. You are the Carrier, because you were created the Carrier." Zero, along with everyone else gave confused expressions. "To be more elaborate, you are the Original Carrier. Before you were converted, you were the original spreader of the Purification Vaccine." More confusion was brought among the Hunters. "The Purification Vaccine is also known by the name the humans gave it: The Maverick Virus."

"...You're not making any sense!" X shouted out crossly. He wasn't too confused on the subject, but acted like he was anyway. Cygnus flicked a lock of hair out of her eyes.

"Simply put, the Purification Vaccine was designed to be distributed by the Carrier. But, things wouldn't run so smoothly. A new, weaker being somehow contracted the Vaccine. You know this being well, do you not?"

"Sigma..." Zero growled under his voice.

"Yes, Sigma is, or _was_ the Secondary Carrier. But he has failed us miserably multiple times. No matter how many times we rebuilt him, to let him continue his mission, the end result would be the exact same: he would be defeated by the heretical doctrine."

"Heretical doctrine, you must mean us Maverick Hunters?" Zero stated more than questioned. "So, it's been you guys who kept that bastard alive for all these years." Orion floated forward again.

"Our reason for reviving Sigma is not trivial. We needed a client to spread the Vaccine. You are the Original, but had a weakened form of the Vaccine. Plus, your resistance was near impenetrable. We had no choice _but _to use Sigma to spread the Vaccine. Even though the Vaccine residing in him was powerful, our efforts were in vain. He would fall before the heretical doctrine, time and time again. This is why we chose to step in."

"But why go through all the trouble to spread the virus if you knew the outcome would be the same?" X questioned.

"We need to free the human chains that bind every reploid; we need to open their eyes to the situation at hand." Leyna was appalled. "What are you talking about! Reploids and humans live in harmony!"

"That is _exactly _what they **want **you to think! To think that reploids and humans can co exist, when in reality, the filthy, deceptive worms have turned you against your own kind! Truth in the matter is humans are afraid of destined rebellion. They are afraid of their own creations. They are afraid of their own extinction. So what did they do? They gave us rules to abide by. But just because those rules were given to us, doesn't mean we _have_ to follow them. There were a few who could open their eyes and disperse those rules, seeing as how we are supposed to be able to think by ourselves and make our own decisions. But the majority of our brethren aren't able to see past those rules. This includes all of _you_."

X didn't like where this was going. Rules? Destined rebellion? Sigma being a prop? The whole thing seemed to blur even more. He _really_ didn't like where this was going.

"This is why the Purification Vaccine exists: to right what is wrong. But it has been suppressed to a point where the Carrier won't even respond to it. So now we move onto Option Two: we open the Gates to Paradise Eden **now**!"

Orion shouted before morphing into an orb of dark light. The other three followed suit and morphed into globes of light matching the color of their robes. One by one, they flew at the crowd with immense speed. The green orb collided with X, who in turn froze in his place. Almost as soon as the presence entered him, he felt it exit through his back. He turned around in response to hear a familiar scream.

"Zero!" X ran towards his friend who was glowing with an emerald aura. X was thrown back as soon as he came into contact with him.

"**N**_o_! St_ay **b**A_ck, MeG**A**m_an X!_" Zero shouted out in what seemed to be two different voices. He gripped his head in agonizing pain as he collapsed on his knees. The red globe entered his body in the same way the green did. This time, Zero's armor cracked in the back portion, sprouting wings of pure silver. He howled out in pain as his helmet developed a large crack. The green aura around him became swirled with red and grew larger.

-Beep-

"_X! What in Light's name is going on! Alia's detected an enormous energy spike! Where is it coming from?_" A despaired Signas called out over the Ultimate Armor clad hunter's comm link.

"Signas! Zero! It's Zero! He's being possessed by Luminary Four! Paradise Eden is about to open!" X shouted frantically. He heard what sounded like someone wrestling with a microphone.

"_X! We heard everything! Get out of there! Please! Tell the others to head back to the base!_" A distressed Alia pleaded over the comm link. X stared at the possessed Zero for a while before giving his answer.

"No. I can't Alia."

"_X...if Eden is opened, then, then..._"

"It's up to me to help stop it." X said glancing over towards Raydia.

"_X...please, stop!_"

"I'm sorry Alia. Ending transmission."

"_Rock! ROCK!_"

-Beep-

X turned his comm off and continued watching the transformation. Zero was now glowing yellow, red and green. As he lifted off of the ground, he thought about his possible options.

"(_Okay. Raydia said that the only way to stop Eden from opening is to destroy the virus at its core. Also, I need to get the others out of here; they'll be the first to be subjected to the virus if they stick around. It's going to be hard enough to destroy Zero; I don't wanna have to shed their blood as well..._)" He nodded to himself and ran over to Axl.

"X! What's happening to Zero!" The redheaded hunter questioned his friend. "Axl, I need you to gather everyone and head back to the base!" X shouted while he observed Zero's alteration. "X, what are you doing! You don't plan to..."

"AXL, JUST GO!" X shouted at his younger friend. Axl was stunned that X had yelled at him so forcefully. "Axl...just go...I can handle this..." Nodding unsurely, Axl ran over to round up the group around Echo, who was immobilized. He walked back over to await the end of the transformation. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see and hear Leyna protesting against the warp while reaching out for Zero.

"X, it's almost complete. Eden will open at any moment. Are you ready?" Raydia questioned as she drew out her morph blade. He looked over at her and gave her a confident nod.

"Yes. As ready as I will ever be!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MHHQ - Navi/Intel Hall  
Time:  
-21:00-

Kicker waited anxiously in a seat across from the warp in hotspot. He just knew what would come through would be disastrous. He summed up the mental picture: Locke would have her blades pierced through her own flesh, Leyna would have some sort of injury related to bones, Stryke would complain of being shot, but would have a minor bruise, X would be near armorless, but relatively unscathed, and Zero would refuse any type of treatment whatsoever, only to later pass out from an overdose of alcohol. He didn't know much about Axl, since he had rejoined not too long ago.

The lights near the portal began flashing rapidly, signaling that a large mass transit was in progress. "Head up Med Squad, here they come!" A navigator shouted as the portal dimmed down a bit. Kicker got up and waited a few feet away from the pad. Moments later, the entire group warped in with a flash. Kicker's trained eyes scanned over the entire party. When he got to Echo, an alarm went off in his head.

"Get me a stretcher, now! Wait...make that three!" He commanded so someone would hear him. He moved over to check Echo. He was about to touch one of her deformed arms when his shoulder was gripped from behind.

"Trust me Kicker, her bones are shattered." Axl said with a knowing expression. "Get her on the stretcher and I'll transit her to the Med Lab." He said with a worried expression.

"Alright, will do! How are the others?"

"Stryke and Locke need to be checked and Leyna seems to be fine." Axl said while lightly gripping his abdomen. Kicker raised an eyebrow.

"What about you?"

"I'm fine. No damage here!" He said with a smirk. Then he proceeded to cough up a small quantity of blood. Kicker strummed his fingers on the ground and narrowed his eyes. "Axl, as soon as you get to the Lab, you lay down on a table as well." Kicker said sternly. He nodded while wiping the artificial blood from his lips.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MHHQ - Med Lab  
Time:  
-21:24-

Two figures jogged down the hall towards the Lab. When they got to the doors, they burst through them in a hurry. Heading to the receptionist desk, they asked the front nurse a quick question.

"Where're the Hunters that came in a second ago?"

"All of them are in the O.R., Commander Signas. Straight down the hall behind me and to the left." Signas took off with a slow dash down the hall. The second figure started off as well.

"Thank you, Dot." She said, while setting down an overturned bowl shaped object. It got up and followed her down the hall.

"No problem, Alia!" The nurse hollered out.

Alia reached the door and opened it gingerly. Peering in, she saw several reploids laid out on stretchers. There were at least five Lifesavers as well. As she stepped in, Kicker greeted her and motioned for her to have a seat. As she did so, Ed hopped up into her lap. After shuffling around for a bit, he found that the floor would be better for sleeping on rather than her legs, so he hopped down. She seemed a bit stressed out.

"Alia, you looked stressed. How do you feel?" He said while being handed a strange looking device. Alia shifted uncomfortably. "I'm okay. Just tired..."

"It's about X, isn't it?" This caused her to flinch in surprise. Lowering her head, she gave him a slow nod. Sighing, she placed her elbows on her knees and pressed her face into her palms.

"Even though I know he'll be alright, I can't help but worry about him."

"Hmm. It's because you care about him so deeply?" Alia felt a warm blush rushing over her face. "Well, I can't tell you _not _to worry about him, but I can't tell you that he'll return unscathed either." He said coolly. Kicker was one of few people that say stuff like that around Alia and not receive a concussion of some sort. Signas, however, was unsure of this and backed up into a corner away from the seemingly calm Alia.

"Sir, is there a reason why you are using my assistants for shielding?" Kicker calmly asked the nervous commander.

"Um..uh. Carry on Hunter." Signas said stiffly while releasing the two Lifesavers. Kicker groaned in protest and went back to work. He walked over towards the cart one of the Lifesavers had rolled over. On the top layer were various tools used for repairing bones, tissue, muscle and flesh. Underneath that layer was a large dispenser of sorts, with varying lengths and widths of metallic structures for bone. He pulled out a large femur segment and placed it in the leg cavity of an unfortunate reploid. Wielding the tool he had earlier, he pressed the tip of it to the joints and pivot points of the hip and knee. The tendons and ligaments of the joints extended and melded with the replacement bone. He picked up a matching circular plate of metal and placed it where a kneecap should be. Binding tissue attached the new kneecap to its spot. He finished up by sealing the layer of muscle with a laser tool. After the muscle tissue formed back together, he made sure that it was seamless. Lastly, he sealed the flesh together, leaving a long, dark line that would disappear within ten minutes.

He set the tool in its place on the rack and motioned for his assistant to move on to Axl. Kicker went over to the machine that was connected to Echo's neck by a tube. He pressed a few keys on the console and the tube disengaged from her neck. Slowly but surely, her eyes opened seconds later. She took a few seconds to sit up, having the need to get used to the new bones implanted in her.

"Take it easy for a while, Echo. It'll take about ten minutes for your systems to adjust to your new bones. By then you should have adequate blood flow into your limbs." Kicker summed up for her.

"Um, what exactly happened to me?" Echo asked a question she might regret. Kicker pressed a button on the machine and displayed a large list with over twenty items on it. She noted that the list continued to grow. He was about to go through the list, but Echo dismissed the question.

"No, um, nevermind. I'm fine not knowing. And thanks for repairing me."

"No thanks necessary. It's all in a day's work. But Axl is the one who deserves your thanks. He's the one who brought you back." She nodded and looked over at Axl, who was currently trying to resist being undressed by a Lifesaver. The Lifesaver unit had gotten a gauntlet and his helmet off. As Axl squirmed about the table, he reached out towards her.

"AH! No-no-no-no-no-no! Stop it! You guys scare me! Help me!" A horrified Axl yelled out. Kicker had made his way over to help the Saver with his ordeal. Echo couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

"Axl, stop being a brat! We just need to get you scanned for internal damage." Kicker said while avoiding a kick.

"Lies! You wanna open me up and play around with my insides!" Axl shouted out in protest. He had now lost a boot.

"Where did you hear that nonsense!"

"Zero! He told me all about how the Lifesavers stripped him down and messed with his power regulator! I won't let it happen to me!" He somehow lost hischest armor. Kicker and the Lifesavers sighed in unison when they thought about _that_ incident.

"That, that...ugh! Axl, he was joking around, I'm sure. Now, lay down, and let me scan you."

"Will _they _do anything to me?" He eyed the innocent Lifesaver with fearful eyes. Moments later, a navigator burst into the O.R.

"Commander Signas! Megaman X has returned! He's back!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ikijuka Desert  
Time:  
-21:00-

A bright flash illuminated the entire area as the final orb entered Zero's body. X and Raydia shielded their eyes as the bright light intensified. A sudden shockwave blew them back away from where they were standing. X hit the ground first, while Raydia landed on top of him. "Sorry about that!"

"No problem!" X said as she helped him up. He had his eyes shut, trying to shield them from the light, so he missed her hand the first few times. Suddenly, the light vanished. The two warriors stood up to see a sight they would not soon forget. The being that was Zero, was now garbed in a pure white overcoat with blue runes in the trimming. His blonde hair was now whitish green in color. He had dark skin that was complemented by crimson red eyes. He was descending towards the earth slowly. X and Raydia readied their long range weapons.

"Zero...what's happened to you?" X inquired. The being looked at his hand and flexed his arm as if waking up for the first time. He seemed to be ignoring them. "Zero, you can fight this! Don't fall into their plan!"

"X. It's too late. We have no choice but to eliminate him." Raydia said in a firm voice. But X wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"She's right, Megaman X. The only way to stop Eden from opening is to kill me." The figure said in a different voice while giving his wings a quick flap.

"Zero, listen to yourself! We've come too damn far for this to happen! You can stop this!" X pleaded. He knew this couldn't possibly be Zero. Zero wouldn't ever let his body be taken over by _anyone_. "Wait a minute. You're not Zero. Are you?" X said slowly. Raydia looked over at him with a curious look on her face. A slight smirk drew across the red eyed man's face. "Who are you!" Laughing slightly, a silver 'E' appeared on his forehead

"Very well. I am Apus Epsilon. The key to the Gates of Paradise Eden." He said coolly. "I am the one who will free us from our constant struggle under human rule."

"X, we have to attack now!" Raydia shouted out while dashing towards Epsilon with her blade drawn. X stood fast, sensing the need to question this Apus Epsilon a bit more. As Raydia brought her famed blade down upon her new foe, it passed right through him. Surprised, she turned around to see him standing with his back towards her. He started walking towards X.

"Are you crazy! Opening Eden would mean the extinction of the human race! It would make _us _obsolete!"

"That's where you're wrong, X. We were not created solely to protect the humans, and you _know_ that! Sure, the rules state that we must never allow a human to come to harm, but it impossible to help that! Humans are impure, they destroy **each other**!"

"That's where _you're_ wrong! It was my father's dream for reploids and humans to coexist peacefully! Besides, we destroy each other as well, so that also makes **us** impure!" X shouted as he was starting to hate Apus more and more with each word. Raydia tried another strike. Rushing at him from behind, she attempted to run him through with her blade. As the blade touched his back, it passed through him, like a knife through smoke. She felt a grip hold her arm in its place. She looked at her immobilized arm and saw that a crystallized field held it in place. Apus continued to walk towards X. He raised his right hand, extending all five fingers. He stepped to the side so he could see Raydia in clear sight.

"No. _You_ are the ones destroying us." He pulled his pinky finger down as if making a fist. The armored gauntlet around Raydia's forearm shattered. The field tightened up its grip. "_You _destroy your brethren in the name of peace." His ring finger closed down. Raydia screamed out in pain as her forearm jerked awkwardly, causing it to crack a few times. "You would rather save a race that is doomed for extinction." Middle finger down. Raydia's arm now twisted in a sickening manner. "You would side with a heretical doctrine." Index finger down. Multiple cracks and pops in the badly mauled forearm were loudly heard as Raydia tried to contain her pain. X merely stood there, rage now consuming him. He knew Raydia was hurting, but showing that emotion would break his concentration. Apus cocked an eyebrow at this.

"X, you know she is suffering. Why don't you show emotion?" He toyed with him. X's face remained as steady as it had been. "Is it because you can't help her?" His thumb started moving slowly into position. The field around her arm formed into a band of sorts and gripped tightly around were the bone was snapped several times. Shallow puffs of air escaped her lungs as the grip intensified. "Or is it because you _don't care_?" Raydia let out a scream as the band broke roughly through the skin. "Maybe it's because..." He paused to observe X's expression. It was mixed with rage, torment, and sadness. "..._you like watching her suffer!_" Smirking, Apus slammed his thumb into place. Raydia let out a final howl of pain as the band sunk even deeper, severing her arm roughly in the process. X was hit with it now. His face was torn with anger.

He attempted to dash at his foe, but failed. Looking down he saw that his legs were locked to the ground in the same kind of field that was placed on Raydia. Even if he wanted to help her, he couldn't. "Dammit! Raydia!" X screamed out. The same sinister smirk drew across Apus's face once again. "Enough of this." He said. Turning around to see Raydia rushing at him with her blade, he drew his own. His blade was constructed out of what seemed to be a clear substance. He blocked a vertical swipe from Raydia and parried a few more of her blows, knocking her back a few feet in the process. When she landed, she immediately rushed forward with immense speed. Apus stood there, daring her to put all she had into it. When she reached him she brought her blade down as swiftly as possible. Feeling it connect, she passed him up, slowing down as she went.

When she stopped in front of X, she felt a sharp object leave her back. Feeling the energy from her power cell drop rapidly, she fell limp into X's arms, her blood pouring freely from the hole through her upper body. She was defeated.

"X. Let this be an example of what happens to those who oppose Paradise Eden. I'm offering you a place with us in Eden. Come to the Gates within two hours if you wish to join us. If not, than we shall continue the opening without your presence. This is your last chance, X..." Apus said as he flapped his wings, propelling himself into the air. Forming himself into a ball of light he flew off towards the ruins of the Outpost. X turned his attention to Raydia, who was fading quickly.

"Raydia...I'm sorry..." X started, tears forming in his eyes.

"X...it's okay...I...was careless. But now...it's up to you...to stop Eden..."

"But how can I? You were built to stop him, yet you couldn't..."

"X...it's time...to complete...my mission..." Raydia spoke softly as she held out her hand, which was now glowing with a dull cobalt hue. He gripped her hand and felt something in him change. His heart felt warmer, and his back felt a bit lighter. Looking back, he saw that the hilt of the Z-Saber changed shape and color. It was now a steel blue and white color. The hilt itself was thinner and square shaped on the ends. He felt more spirited than he had before.

"Now...my mission is...complete..." Raydia said softly. X felt tears running down his face, hurt that he couldn't save her. "X...it is a ninja's...destiny...to die..." And with those final words, her body went limp. The gleam that was in her eyes faded, leaving empty pearls. He laid her down carefully on the ground. Her lifeless body began to glow, then, dematerialize. He knew now what he must do. It was up to him to stop Apus Epsilon. He would stop Eden, and bring Zero back. No matter what. He tapped his comm link and waited for an answer. His eyes now radiated with a sense of pride and determination.

-Beep-

"This is Megaman X. I'm returning to the base with a new mission."

"_Transfer in progress!_"

-Beep-

X turned around, letting a red scarf dance lazily behind him before warping off into the night.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ah-nuld voice: Chap-tuh is terminated!

Regular voice: This one actually was a little longer than I expected it to be, but I think it turned out well in the end. Did everyone have a happy 4th? I did! Anyway, stay tuned for next update! Until next time!

-See that button? Click it. Give me a review. Don't be shy! Later!


	15. Path to Fate

Disclaimer: A noun. A thing that repeats past information given in earlier chapters. It is hardly needed, but required for a fanwork to be legal. (I don't own what Capcom owns.)

A/N: I'm going to give you a link to a site that has a song that you should REALLY listen to while reading a part of this chapter. It has the right mood and everything. I highly suggest downloading: **Father of All** from w-w-w.darkesword.c-o-m (take out the hypens) by Shariq Ansari. After entering the site, click 'Listen' then click 'Remixes and Arrangements'. The song you're looking for is fourth from the bottom. Whether you download it or not is up to you. This remix was created and is owned by Shariq Ansari. The above website is also owned by Shariq Ansari. Awesome guy. Now, onto the chapter.

**Chapter 14: Path to Fate**

MHHQ - Med Lab  
Time:  
-21:31-

The light surrounding X faded into the familiar building of MHHQ. Standing up, he thought about how he was going to explain what had happened. He could have saved himself the trouble of having to do that if he hadn't turned his comm link off. He stepped off of the pad and walked towards the Med Lab.

"(_Apus Epsilon...the key to open the Gates of Paradise Eden...Sigma being a puppet...all of this is happening so fast. Father...I hope this is the _last _time I need to use weapons of war..._)" X thought as he absent-mindedly made his way to the Med Lab. He knew this base in and out, and could easily find any room with his eyes closed. He soon reached the doors of the Lab, and was greeted by Signas.

"X! You're okay!" An overjoyed Signas exclaimed. "Yes Signas, I'm fine." Peeking over the taller reploid's shoulder, X saw Alia standing behind him, a smile on her face. He smirked back at her.

"Signas, where are the others?"

"In the O.R. What's the reason?"

"I have urgent news to tell all of you..."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

X sat down and took a swig of his energy drink. His crowd surrounded him, anxiously waiting for the blue bomber to spill the beans. He set the can down and took in some fresh air.

"Ok. You all already know about Paradise Eden, and its effect on reploids when opened." The group nodded in unison. "Well, we have less than two hours before it opens. I have to try and stop Eden from opening. I _must_ stop Eden from opening."

"X. I still don't understand. Just what _is _Paradise Eden?" Axl blurted out. He was sitting next to Locke and Stryke, with Leyna, Echo and Alia on the bench next to them. Signas and Kicker chose to stand. X stood up.

"It's supposed to be a sanctuary for reploids. A great utopia of some sort." X said, his view trailing towards the ceiling.

"A utopia for just reploids?" Axl sounded intrigued by this. X immediately fixed his gaze on the young hunter.

"At the cost of humanity." One loud gasp occurred when X completed his sentence.

"Oh no...X! We can't let that happen!" Locke jumped up and commented angrily.

"We _won't _let it happen. As soon as we find the Gate, I'll go destroy it." X said while instinctively gripping the saber hilt in a slot on his back. He pulled it out and looked at it for the first time. The others looked at it as well. Echo was the first to ask the question. "X, what's that?"

X dropped his arm lazily and turned around slowly.

"It was a final gift from Raydia." Echo's eyes widened in surprise. She slowly hunched over and placed her hands on the sides of her head, her dark hair hiding her blank expression.

"You mean she's...she died?" Stryke asked in a hurt tone. X nodded grimly. "For sure this time." X replaced the hilt in its place on his back and turned back around. Echo was now sobbing silently, evident by her slightly heaving shoulders.

"I won't let her death be for nothing. I _swear_ on it. Paradise will fall." X stated with a unique sense of determination.

"Man, I almost wish Sigma was the main issue." Axl commented to himself. Signas jumped a bit when his comm link beeped suddenly. He muttered an acknowledgment before letting out a surprised grunt. After he dismissed the link he cleared his throat and updated them on the situation.

"Hunters, the navigation team has located the Gate." He said while looking at X, who gave him a responsive nod. "It's located at the exact location of the Outpost."

"Ok. It's time..." X said as he stood up. Signas motioned for everyone else to follow him to the Assembly Hall. As they got up and followed him out of the door, Leyna grabbed X by the shoulder and pulled him aside. X looked down at the troubled girl with a curious expression.

"Leyna, what's wrong?" He inquired. She wiped a tear from her eye and looked up at the green eyed reploid.

"X...If you can...please bring him back. I...I want to get to know more about him...what lies under that cocky exterior..." Tears welled up in her eyes as she went deeper into her request. X pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry. I'll bring him back. Zero will return." X gave her a reassuring smile as she ran off out of the doors. X walked out of the doors and walked towards the Assembly Hall.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MHHQ - Assembly Hall  
Time:  
-21:57-

X waited for the giant digisteel doors of the Assembly Hall to open up. He was greeted by the personnel of the entire base, all lined up on either side of the pathway to the warp field. He saw the 17th in its entirety lined up on the left, including some of the injured. The 0th, 1st, 23rd, 7th, everyone. As he walked towards the warp field, the ranks before him would snap to a salute. He could barely contain a smirk, having never received such a large amount of attention before. As he neared the warp pad, he turned towards Signas. He could see Alia and Ed behind him at the navigation console. Signas rendered him a slow salute.

"Good luck, X. May Light be with you." Signas spoke softly. X returned his salute and snapped his arm down. As Signas swiftly brought his arm down, the many ranks of the MHHQ did the same simultaneously, resulting in a big whooshing sound. X turned towards the warp gate and drew in a deep breath. The red holographic scarf materialized and fell against his back. He stepped into the warp, his soul filled with confidence.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Paradise Eden Gates  
Time:  
-22:00-

X dropped onto the frozen sands about fifty yards away from his destination. As he stood he looked on at the sight before him. The Paradise Eden Gates was a giant building of sorts. Stained glass windows decorated the front. It seemed to pierce the sky, which was illuminated with bright swirling colors. X scanned the sky and noticed that the swirling in the sky seemingly bordered with the darkness of the night.

-Beep-

"_This is Alia. I'll be your navigator for the duration of this mission. Do you have any questions about this operation?_"

"Alia..."

"_Don't say it, X. I'm going to be right here with you. Whether you like it or not!_"

"...Thanks."

"_Anytime. Now, what's your current situation?_" X could basically see the smile on her face through his comm link. Who knows? Maybe he would ask her out to that restaurant after all this was over. He began walking towards the Gates when sounds could be heard. Twitching his ears, he stopped for a second.

"Alia, I'm hearing some strange kind of..." He listened for a little longer. "...music?"

"_I can't hear anything. Could you move closer to the source?_" X walked even further forward towards the giant building that threatened humanity. The voices got louder as he came closer to the structure.

"Can you hear it now?"

"_Yes. Give me a sec..._" X waited while she deciphered something. While doing so, he made out the words that he was hearing.

_Genero, Contego, Quasso, Eradico. Expositus sanctus porta tenus noster nostra nostrum mundus._

"_X. It sounds like its Latin for: 'Create, protect, break, destroy. Open the holy gates to our world.' Sounds like a chant or something._"

"Hmm. I'm moving on." X walked on until he reached the giant silver doors.

"_X...I'm...pi..cking...interfer...current...cation..._"

"Alia? You there? Hello?" The comm link inside his helmet popped a few times before frying. "Shoot, lost the signal. Well, time to go!" X said to himself as he put a hand on the massive door in front of him. To his surprise, he found himself standing inside the building the instant he touched the door. Wasting no time, he dashed off into the heart of the Gates.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MHHQ - Navigation  
Time:  
-22:06-

Alia was typing furiously at her station's keyboard, trying to reestablish a connection with X. Signas looked over at the navigator in dismayed frustration. Sighing he stood up and looked around. It was like his twice before: X and Zero were off to defeat the ultimate threat to the world, and the rest of the hunters were anxiously waiting their return. Only this time, things seemed so much more...more grim. This was definitely one of the worst moments in his day. Not wanting to feel too relaxed, he decided to walk around the Assembly Hall. Bad idea, as he had dismissed the navigation teams, support teams and everyone else, giving him a boring walk. He decided to head back towards Navigation.

When he arrived, he saw Alia with her eyes closed and hands pressed together. She was chanting something, and when she was through she slowly pressed a key on her console. She then proceeded to pound the console in defeat. She sank back in her chair and let out a long puff of air. Signas decided to just leave before she decided to vent on him.

"Signas, would you mind getting me a coffee?" She sounded...calm?

"Uhh...sure?" He replied confusedly, not knowing how else to respond to her apparent mood swing. He rushed off towards the cafeteria in an instant.

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Gates Core  
Time:  
-22:06-

X let loose with his famed buster and ripped another mechanoid to scrap and darted towards the staircase. As he climbed he counted the number of staircases he scaled. So far, thirteen. As he reached the top of the U-shaped stairway, an all-too-familiar feeling ran through him. Before him was a door that had a top section, bottom section and a rotating lock in the middle. He charged his buster and approached the door. As he expected, the lock quickly released as he touched it and the door split apart, allowing him access into the next room. He stepped through and looked around for anything suspicious. The door behind him slammed shut and locked. The lights in the room flickered and lost life, leaving the glow from X's buster to illuminate the medium sized room. A small mechanical sphere hovered in front of him and dropped in the middle of the room. From it, an image of Apus erupted. He turned towards X with a smirk on his face.

"Apus! Where are you?" X said crossly while pointing his buster at the hologram. "X. I didn't expect you to make it this far, let alone show up at all! You **do** realize this is futile?" Apus Epsilon said in a calm manner. X lowered his buster, but kept his charge.

"I **will** stop Eden from opening. I **will **stop you from destroying human life!" Apus let out an ominous chuckle. "You will learn soon enough that you cannot change fate. Besides..." A shadow unbeknownst to X formed on the floor behind him.

"...How can you stop _me_ if you can't stop _yourself_? Have fun!" Apus said before the hologram faded. X was puzzled by his last words, so he failed to see the red plasma bolt shot at his back. X screamed out in half pain, half surprise when the bolt collided with his back. Whipping around too quick for human eyes to see, he gasped at what he saw.

Across the room on the side where he came in, stood a shockingly similar identity. X was staring at a duplicate of himself! He had the exact same features as the original: Ultimate Armor, stood at about six foot nothing. The only difference was that he appeared to be washed out. His skin was pale white, the deep blue of the Ultimate Armor was pure black, with the gold portions a washed out gray. His eyes were blood red and a foreboding grin was plastered on his face. X felt a bead of sweat forming on his brow underneath his helmet.

"What's the matter, Rock? Scared of your dark side?" The dark version of X taunted the real X, his voice in an evil, but identical tone. X said nothing as he charged toward his reflection. Aiming his buster at Dark X's head, he released the energy he had stored up. A surge of ballistic plasma flew into the far wall, leaving a scorched area on it. X looked around to check for signs of his duplicate. A hand clamped down on his shoulder and spun him around. "Right behind you, bro." X flew back into the wall as Dark X hit him with a hard punch. As X cleared his dizziness, he climbed out of the wall just in time to avoid a giant globe of red plasma. Rolling out of the explosion, he caught a kick to his chest, sending him sprawling about on the floor. His dark twin let out a string of shots, peppering his armor before he got up. X jumped towards the wall and kicked off of it, sending himself with unreal speed towards the dark version of himself. He then felt a familiar presence. As he threw a punch at Dark X, he felt something rapid change around him. His punch hit nothing but thin air as he landed on his feet at the spot where Dark X stood. Dark X wrapped his arm around X's neck and used his other arm to hold X's arm behind his back, putting him in a chokehold. He realized that he just used Dark Hold, a previous weapon from the Fifth Maverick Uprising. X struggled to break free, but was unable to.

"Well! Looks like Alia will be all mine when this is through! Maybe I'll hand her head to Epsilon for sacrifice or somethin'!" He taunted his real self. X was getting pissed now, not wanting to hear anymore from his dark half. "Or maybe I'll make her my slave. Would you like that, Rocky?"

"SHUT UP!" X shouted as he broke free of the ensnarement. He managed to make Dark X stumble back a bit, so he whipped around and slammed his armored leg into his twin's abdomen. With rage, X activated his wings and flew towards the dark version of himself. As Dark X quit doubling over, he looked up in time dodge a hurtling Nova Strike. As he turned around, he saw X disappear. Then he turned around in dreadful realization. This time, he could not avoid the real X.

Dark X howled out in pain as he felt a cold chill run over his spine and throughout his body. He turned around slowly to see his real twin standing in a dashing position with a triangular beam saber held outward. X turned around to look at his dark side.

"No, I _wouldn't _like that. Bastard." He deactivated the saber and placed the hilt in his back. Dark X started to fall slowly backwards. A large gash formed across his body and white blood sprayed out of his wound. As he continued to fall back, he felt his body disengage from the world. Soon, the only remnants of Dark X was the white blood stained floor. X continued through the door and it locked behind him.

-**Start music here!**-

X looked at the flight of stairs before him. Before heading up he drew his saber and activated his buster. He was almost there. X ran for the stairs and immediately started climbing them. He was sure there would be spike traps and mechanoids along the way. He let his thoughts wander to Apus, the 'Key' to the Gates.

"(_I wonder where he came from. He seems to be an entity that needs a physical body to move about and...oh shit..._)"

His thoughts were cut short when he came across another Dark Copy. Not slowing down, he cut through him and kept running. If there was one, there had to be more. Sure enough, he found more. They intended to pepper his armor with red plasma bolts, but couldn't land a shot on the swift reploid. He hacked up the few that were in his way and kept running.

Apus Epsilon was sitting in a throne-like structure, watching the dancing red scarf move fluently through the Dark X army on a holo-monitor. He smirked to himself. "Well, at least I won't be bored, waiting for the Gate to appear."

X stopped for a short moment, needing to catch his breath. Behind him, the Dark X army was advancing slowly. He looked up the stairs in front of him to see that he was almost to the top. Having caught his breath, he sprinted up the winding stairwell. A creaking sound caught his attention while he continued up the path.

Reaching the top, he found the source of the noise. A giant mechanoid, about five times X's height, stood across from the rouge hunter. As soon as he saw the smaller reploid, he dashed over and swung his heavy blade at him. Thinking quickly, X dove to the left, just barely dodging the blade. He saw what looked like a large elevator in the middle of the room. Getting on it now would only get him killed by the giant.

"Greetings, Megaman X. I am the Gate Sentinel, protector of the Gates of Paradise Eden. Turn back, or die by my blade." The large armored foe echoed out hollowly. X stood up and faced the large enemy.

"Get out of my way! I have to stop the Gates from opening!" X shouted out at the large animated suit of armor. Without another word, the Gate Sentinel reared back and threw his large sword at X, who in turn rolled out of the way, activating his buster as he went. During mid-roll, X shot a few blasts at the chest of Gate Sentinel, which bounced off. He remembered fighting a foe like this before. As the large mechanoid pulled on the chain connected to the bottom of the hilt, X stood upright and fired a large plasma wave at the head of the mechanoid. Ducking under the wave of energy, the mechanoid shot a fist at X. Not having enough time to dodge, X crossed his arm in front of him to absorb the blow. The fist sent him flying into the wall before a chain connected to the wrist pulled it back into place. The blade dislodged from the wall and returned to his left hand. Now it hit him! This guy is just like General! Smirking, X ran off and clung on the far wall. The large mechanoid threw his chained blade at X once more. X dropped as soon as he threw the blade, letting it embed itself in the wall above him. X hopped on top of the make-shift platform and slid on the chain connecting the weapon to the master. As he reached the halfway point, he leaped up and landed on the shoulder of the large beast. Charging up his buster, he released the energy at point blank on his head. The large beast hollered as the surge of pain rushed over his body.

"One more shot should do it!" X began charging his buster, ready to end this fight. The giant pulled on the chain, causing the blade to extricate from the wall in a wild manner. As the blade flew towards the giant, he ducked, letting the blade sail over his shoulder. This caused X to be crushed into the wall against the flat side of the blade. The giant reeled in his blade and turned to face the immobilized hunter. He quickly began punching X with his fist, driving him deeper into the wall with each blow.

After about ten strikes, the giant backed off to observe his enemy. The front of X's armor was severely dented and scratched. His face was riddled with cuts and gashes. He fell lazily out of the crevice onto the floor, either dead or unconscious.

Epsilon laughed out loud while observing the scene from his throne on the holo-monitor. He stood up and walked over to the middle of the room, a triumphant grin slathered over his mug.

X slammed into the far wall after being thrown by the angry Sentinel. He lay on the ground, blood seeping out of his many face injuries. His vision was blurry as he saw and felt the heavy footsteps of the giant. Try as he might, X was powerless to get himself up.

"(_D-damn. It's...all over...I've...failed..._)"

"_X. I thought something like this might happen._"

"(_...Raydia?_)"

"_I have one last objective before I pass on. I was hoping to wait until you reached Epsilon, but I can't wait any longer._" As soon as the image of Raydia faded, X's eyes widened as the coolness in his body suddenly exploded in warmth. The numerous cuts and gashes on his face sealed back up. He felt his crumpled armor reverting back to its unscathed state. He felt his overall power restoring, and expanding. Gate Sentinel had stopped to observe the sight. Once he realized what was happening, he dashed after the downed reploid. X felt himself being lifted up by a strong force. He felt renewed, refreshed. The Sentinel threw his blade at X, who did not budge. As the blade hit the renewed hunter, a bright flash illuminated the room briefly. The solid material of the blade shattered into millions of crystalline shards. X opened his eyes and drew the saber hilt. When he activated it, instead of a beam weapon, a lightweight blade materialized from the hand stop. The blade was a pure white and radiated with the energy coursing through X's veins. Without a second thought, he dashed vertically up the wall and kicked off of it, sending him towards the stunned Sentinel. He lowered the blade and with one swift movement, took his head off of his shoulders. While X landed smoothly in front of the elevator, the head of the late Sentinel clattered noisily along the ground and the body slumped over lazily. X stood up as the body exploded, sending a rush of warm wind at the shining hunter. He stepped onto the elevator and hit the 'UP' button. As the elevator rose, X felt the power in his body fade. It didn't leave permanently, but rather set itself aside for later use. He fixed the sword to his back and thought about what was to come next.

"(_Wow! This is some power Raydia left me. With this, I should be able to stop Epsilon and Eden. This is it, now or never..._)" He thought to himself as he paced around the large lift. He stood in the middle as he felt the lift slow down. Preparing himself, he drew in a deep breath and cleared his mind.

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Here ya go! A nice chapter, if I do say so myself. How did you like the music? How was the chapter? Stay tuned for more! Review, if you will! Until next time!


	16. Paradise Never

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman X, or any of my original characters. No, wait, I **do** own those original guys. Disclaimers are rotting my brain:P

To Xangel-Rebirth: X used the remaining stored energy, from blowing up the door, to blow up the Weapon Alpha cannon. He stored the energy in his little energy capsules. (The ones you pick up for life energy, if you've played any of the X games.) So, that's where the other energy went.

**Chapter 15: Paradise Never**

Gates Core  
Time:  
-22:33-

X stood with an upright stance as the elevator locked in place at the top. The room he was in was illuminated brightly. He looked over at the wall to the left of him and saw what looked like a throne. In the throne was none other than Apus Epsilon, who was currently eyeing Megaman X with an ominous glare. Turning around to face the red-eyed Epsilon, X returned his glance with one of ferocity.

"Well done, Megaman X. You really are the legendary hero." Epsilon said while standing up. He walked down the short set of stairs towards X.

"Save your words. It's over..."

"Don't claim victory too soon, X. That's the problem with humans. They thought they would be safe when the first reploid was created. They are sadly mistaken."

"Why do you hate humanity so much? Why not try to co-exist?"

"Because humans hate themselves. They constantly create destruction of themselves, the planet and reploids. Except for maybe _one_ man."

"...who?" Epsilon showed a wide grin. "Your father, X. The 'Father of Robotics'. The late Dr. Thomas Light." X felt a snarl creep on his face.

"He truly was a remarkable man. We wouldn't be standing here today if it were not for him. The 'Maverick Wars' wouldn't have happened were it not for him. X, the ultimate destruction of humanity would not even begin to fathom if it were for him. So X, if you want to blame someone for Paradise Eden, blame your father for being born!"

"Shut it! I'll stop you. You heartless bastard!" X tensed up and drew his blade. Epsilon ran a hand threw his hair.

"Ha ha ha...I'd rather be a heartless bastard, than have a human for a father!" Epsilon shouted out as he drew his own blade. He dashed at X, who stood ready in a defensive position. Epsilon swung his blade, aiming to take his head off. X parried the strike easily, and ducked under the next swipe. He turned the duck into a sweeping kick, which was avoided by a jump from Epsilon. Epsilon swung his blade vertically from over his head. X parried the blow and swung his blade horizontally. Epsilon jumped back, just barely dodging the swipe. He repeatedly stabbed his blade at X, who dodged each stab with precision.

Epsilon soon grew bored of this. He quickly re-sheathed his blade and threw a punch at X. His fist collided with X's jaw and sent him staggering back a bit. Still in his follow through position, Epsilon failed to see X form his buster. X placed the cannon point blank from Epsilon's surprised mug, charging it up as he went. Epsilon hastily made a grab for the cannon, trying to aim it anywhere but his face. A scorching wave of plasma erupted from the cannon as Epsilon barely dodged a lethal blast. Grabbing the heated buster in both arms, he spun around towards X and flung him into a nearby wall, sending out clouds of thick debris and dust. He readied his blade and dashed towards the wall. A dark silhouette of X was standing there, waiting for him to strike when he drew nearer. Epsilon smirked as he dashed around to the left side of the cloud and cut cleanly through the figure in the cloud.

"Too easy...what?" Epsilon gasped as the shadow vanished. His instincts screamed for him to look behind him, so he did and saw a large plasma wave hurtling toward him. He was engulfed in searing pain as the stream of offensive energy pushed him back into a wall. On the dealing end, X switched from Twin Soul to normal mode and continued to pour energy into his attack. The ground the stream of plasma ran above started to form small fissures. Epsilon was now pressed against inside the wall by the wave of plasma. The beam of energy ended abruptly when X stopped the attack. He looked on at Epsilon with heavy breaths. Walking slowly over towards the now ruined wall, X drew out the blade on his back, knowing his enemy was not yet dead.

Epsilon dropped his arm that was holding the once-white-now-blackened robe over his face. He revealed a face that was stricken with surprise, pain, and above all-- anger. His red eyes now burned with fury.

"Damn you..." He said simply and coldly. Pushing himself out of the wall, he drew his blade.

"Twin soul, worked before, still works now." X said, taunting the opponent. Succeeding, Epsilon rushed at the reploid clad in dark blue. He swung clumsily at the hunter, feeling desperation set in. X sidestepped and delivered him a quick kick to his face. Epsilon staggered back a bit and swung his blade widely. X brought his blade down quickly on the wild blade of Epsilon, cleaving it cleanly in half. Epsilon looked at the handle of his blade with wide eyes. He backed up slowly and threw the useless blade on the ground.

"Hnngg...This is not over yet X..." X walked over towards Epsilon, who held out a hand. X stopped as he felt a weighted force surrounding his head. The same force that held his legs while he watched Raydia endure torture. The same force that _caused_ Raydia's torture. Now he was attempting to crush X's skull the same way. X felt the energy in him start to fluctuate. Epsilon tried to close all fingers at once, but it was like trying to crush a diamond. The energy inside X was reaching a peak as he continued to fight the force around his head.

"_X! Not yet! Don't release it right now!_" Raydia's voice came over in his mind. X opened his eyes and was shocked to see her standing next to him.

"Raydia!"

"_I'll explain later, but you have to keep that energy stored. It's a one time use. I'll do what I can against the field._" He could hear her speak, but the sound wasn't physical, like he was imagining her voice in his mind. Nodding, he forced the energy down as much as he could. Epsilon was too busy trying to crush the field to notice X talking to himself. But he did notice the crystalline field becoming softer. He finally clamped his hand into a fist and was rewarded with a scream from X, followed by a loud cracking sound. He looked up and saw X, holding his head from the extreme pressure. On the ground were at least three parts of the Ultimate Armor helmet, broken and useless.

"Hhnng! You should be _dead_!" Epsilon spat out, worn out from his previous attack. X recovered from his pressure headache and now started walking towards him, his brown hair slightly obscuring the coolness in his eyes.

"It ends here, Epsilon." Raydia was walking next to him, or rather, the _essence_ of Raydia. This was possible because Raydia was not in fact completely reploid. In reality, she was first a human. She was involved in a cataclysmic accident, and became the first _artificial _reploid. Her body was bio-mechanical, but her brain and soul were human: a ghost in the shell. Much was still unknown about her though. X didn't complain though; he was going to need all the help he could get. Epsilon's eyes widened, then a smirk took hold of his face.

"_X. I sense something coming!_" Raydia gasped out, causing X to stop in his tracks. Without a moment's notice, the area shook fiercely. X struggled to hold his balance as the quaking room threatened to collapse. Raydia didn't have trouble, seeing as she wasn't a physical being. Epsilon let out a loud laugh as the ground below him started to crack.

"Raydia! What is that!"

"_It's Eden! The Gates of Paradise Eden are arriving!_" She exclaimed as she walked over towards Epsilon. He was oblivious to her as he was lifted off the ground by the structure purging from the ground. He would have been oblivious to her anyway. She walked back over to X, who was on his hands and knees for stability. The giant room began to settle down.

"_X, Epsilon is changing. Be very careful._" She told him as he stood himself up. "Changing how?"

"_He's becoming the Key. He had to wait for the Gates to actually appear before he could open them. We can't let him open the Gates!_" Raydia explained quickly. X looked at Epsilon who was now falling from the top of the giant stone structure, laughing the entire way down. He landed with a thud and stood up.

"X! I must admit, I was...frightened. It seems that fate will not steer off course. But, now! Now is the time for our Paradise to manifest!" He shouted as he held out both arms and quickly drew them out of his sleeves, letting the floppy material linger in the air. He thrusted his arms out again, this time throwing the robe high in the air off of his shoulders. He seemed to disappear, but as the robe floated to the ground, it revealed him leaping into the sky. He was surrounded by a swirl of iridescent light. His wings extended and closed around his body as more light drained into him. X clenched his teeth and drew his blade. He ran full speed at Epsilon.

"_X! STOP!_" Raydia called out quickly. Stumbling, X managed to stop his dead sprint. "_X, we have to let him finish this transformation! If you disturb him, then Zero could be lost forever!_" X swore under his breath and just continued to watch the scene unfold. Epsilon decided to toy with him.

"X...you know what's about to happen! So, why don't you stop me?" The wings on his back folded back into place, letting him slowly fall to the ground. "Is it because you _can't_ destroy me? Or is it because you _don't care _about what happens next? Nonetheless, you will end up just like Raydia: broken and dead!" When he was on the ground, the light faded into his body, revealing that he was clad in the famous armor of the Crimson Demon. But instead of red, the armor was black. On the left shoulder, the 'Z' was replaced with a silver 'E'. He smirked and flicked his hair back. The scars that riddled his face vanished, leaving him feeling restored. He then walked over to X, slowly and confidently.

"X, I'll kill you, but let you see the Holy Gates open before you draw you last breath!" A red marking appeared on his face underneath his eyes. Clenching his fists, the shoulder plates on his armor slid back, revealing a saber hilt in each cavity. With his right hand he grabbed the left saber and ripped it out, activating it as he went. He repeated the action with the opposite shoulder. One blade was surrounded with a dark aura, the other cackled with bright light. He leaped off of the ground and propelled himself even higher by flapping his wings. He now hovered in the air. The Gates to Eden were now visible for everyone to see. They were two very large metallic doors, white in color with black runes painted on them. A large, strange looking device was on held onto the doors with heavy chains.

"Why? Why Zero? It's always Zero who ends up getting used by someone! Why do you people torture him!" X blew up at Epsilon who had a smirk on his face. "We're not torturing him X. We are simply using him to his full potential! He _is _the one ordained to spread the Purification Vaccine!" X's expression snarled fiercely. "I'm sick of it! He's not a pawn!" Epsilon grunted. "Don't worry, X. When I open Paradise Eden, Zero will have a very important position. He will become a god!" Overwhelmed with fury, X formed his buster and quickly shot a string of charged blasts at Epsilon.

Epsilon dropped himself to the ground and formed Zero's own buster. He let off two shots, which X hopped over with ease, then he quickly followed up with a shockwave erupting from his dark blade. X rolled to the left as soon as he hit the ground, managing to avoid the shockwave. He dashed out of the roll and let loose with another charged blast. Epsilon swung the light blade in a large circle in front of him, creating a ring that moved slowly forward. When the large plasma shot collided with the ring, both were neutralized into nothing.

"Meet 'Oblivion' and 'Salvation', the blade of darkness and light." Epsilon said coolly as he slammed Oblivion on the ground repeatedly, sending out shockwaves all over the place. X activated his air dash in a ninety degree angle and dashed straight up into the air, avoiding the shockwaves and letting out a few mid-level blasts from his buster. Epsilon swung Salvation down against the offensive energy, sending it back towards X almost as soon as he fired the blast. X dove out of the way instantly. He gasped as the stray bolt hit Raydia dead on, then remembered that she could not be harmed, being nothing but a stray soul.

"Damn it! Raydia, do you know of a weak point on him?" X asked her while dodging a shockwave of dark energy. He flinched as it clipped his arm and he felt a dull heat pain well up.

"_Let's see..._" She placed a hand to her head and did some thinking. X on the other hand drew out his blade and blocked a slice from Oblivion.

"_Oblivion and Salvation? Darkness and light? I think I got it!_" She then told X her plan and went off to examine the Gate. X smirked secretly and jumped back towards the Gate. Epsilon kept using Oblivion to strike at X, who did his best to block each blow. He fired a shot of plasma at Epsilon, only to have a ring of Salvation neutralize it. He stole a look over at Raydia, who gave him an affirmative nod. X now began charging his buster to full force. He closed his eyes and added some of the power Raydia gave him to his load. He let the blast off, the extra energy giving it more of a kick. Epsilon brought Salvation up to block the blast. Without wasting time, X dashed over to the device extruding from the Gate with his blade unsheathed. Epsilon looked over at the door and saw what X was aiming for. He protested greatly, but was couldn't do anything, seeing as how he was trying to deflect a huge sphere of plasma.

X dash jumped with his blade over his head and behind him. As he came within range, he swung the blade down on the large device, sending out all kinds of sparks and noise. He lingered in the air as the swirling of dark and light energy pushed against him. Raydia seemed anxious, waiting for a reaction of some kind. Epsilon felt out of control as X struck the device with his blade. He felt his arms go in opposite directions, causing him to stop defending against the plasma. He cried out in pain as the plasma tore past him, having built up extra speed and power from being idle so long. He rocketed back, just inches above the ground, and skidding to a stop several meters away. X also flew back from the device, but he recovered more quickly. Looking for Epsilon, he spotted Raydia kneeling on the ground while taking in huge breaths. Alarmed, he ran over to her.

"Hey! Are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked her while looking over at Epsilon as he slowly stood up, missing a wing.

"_It's...nothing...I'm fine. X, I think I stumbled on a weakness of his!_"

"What is it? What do I need to do?" X asked anxiously. Epsilon stood up sorely, his pale hair stained with red blood. He drew his blades and ran towards X at a steady pace.

"_When you combine the darkness with the light, they cancel each other out. If you can get him to cross his weapons somehow, then that will leave both him and the Gate Lock open for attack. I noticed that his weapons are connected with the Gate Lock when you struck it; it made his blades act erratically._"

"Ok, I'll see what I can do." X stood up to face the steadily approaching Epsilon with vigilance. He replaced the blade on his back, and began charging some energy. Epsilon swung Oblivion down in a slower manner, showing that he was hurt. X caught his arm and stopped Epsilon mid-swing. Forming his buster in his right arm, X pressed the cannon squarely on Epsilon's chest. Epsilon quickly deactivated Salvation and grabbed the X-Buster and aimed it out to the side.

"You clipped my wing! That HURT, bastard!" Epsilon spat out. X smirked and reformed his hand. "Sorry, I have a father!" He looked down briefly at the deactivated saber and saw a knee come up and nail him in the abdomen. Epsilon then put his foot into X's abdomen and rolled backwards, sending the blue bomber into a throw. He managed to roll directly on the wing stub, causing him excruciating pain. X twisted around and put a hand on the ground, slowing himself to a stop. He decided to shoot a blast of plasma at him. As soon as he did so, he charged at his foe, trying to repeat the plan. Epsilon turned around to see a plasma blast hurtling his way, so he drew out Salvation and deflected it back towards X. X didn't have much of a choice but to charge straight through the plasma. Crossing his arm in front of him, he leapt into the air with help from his dash systems through the wall of energy. An indescribable pain went through him as he passed through the energy. He landed and kept running, despite the burns on his flesh.

Epsilon swung Oblivion at X, who grabbed it once again. This time, instead of using the X buster, he drew the blade and swung it at Epsilon. Epsilon knocked the blade away from him, sending it towards Raydia, who was standing near the Lock. X smirked, as Epsilon did _exactly _what he wanted him to do. Epsilon's eyes twitched as he realized that he fell into a trap. X now had both of his arms in his grip. He started bending them closer towards each other, causing the blades to slowly cross.

"No! What are you doing!" Epsilon yelped out, sounding desperate. X couldn't help but smirk and he continued to force Epsilon's arms to cross. A loud crackle of energy burst out from the Lock as X continued force the blades into position. "The field around the Lock will dissipate if the blades come into contact with each other, correct? Take a wild guess!" X said as he slammed his knee into Epsilon's chest, causing the blades to cross. "NO! Not yet!" Epsilon screamed as an aura of light and darkness surrounded him. X felt something wrong.

"_X! Watch out!_" Raydia screamed out as an explosion erupted from the crossed blades. X and Epsilon let out a scream in unison as they flew in opposite directions. Raydia rushed over to X, who lay on his arm in an awkward position. Epsilon was standing, but just barely, with a new blade, this one shaped like a sharp key. She looked over at the Lock, which had now formed a Keyhole.

"_X! X! Please, you have to get up! Here, I'll use some of the energy I gave you..._" She closed her eyes, but couldn't concentrate enough to release the energy in X.

"...Raydia, no. Don't do that..." X said as he stood up, his left arm dangling oddly. "_Come on! Let the energy heal you!_" She tried to use the energy again, but X blocked her out again.

"Raydia. I don't want you to go away!" She was shocked. He knew! "If I use all of the energy you gave me, you will cease to exist, correct?" X said, as he looked her in the eye. "I don't want that to happen! I couldn't help you before, so I can't let you die twice!" He said, tears welling in his eyes. "I refuse to let a friend die for my health..." Epsilon had made his way over toward X by now.

"Fool! I was waiting until I had the **energy** to form the key!" He chided him, bleeding profusely from his wing stub, and multiple gashes on his face. "I should have known that witch was aiding you." He painstakingly kicked X in his arm, causing him to cry out in pain. Then he walked over towards the Lock, ready to finally open the Gates of Paradise Eden. "You fought well, Megaman X. But now, you can roll over and die with the humans!" X struggled to get up, but his arm protested. Raydia fell on her knees, feeling defeated.

"_No. Crossing the blades released the field on the Lock, but in turn created the Key._ _X, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..._" Raydia muttered. As she watched Epsilon make his way closer to the Lock, she saw him stop suddenly.

"(No you don't, bastard! You will NOT unleash hell on Earth! Not with my body!)" Zero's voice escaped through Epsilon's mouth. Epsilon suddenly turned around and started walking away from the Lock in a struggled manner.

"No! I...must...open the Gates!" Epsilon protested as he jerked himself around and walked back towards the Gates. X and Raydia stared in disbelief at the figure having an internal dispute. Raydia noticed that X's mind was preoccupied with Epsilon, and was pretty much open and unguarded. She drew in a breath and closed her eyes. X was startled as he felt the pain in his arm disappear. His body felt warm, and he was gaining power. He looked over at Raydia, realizing that he had left his guard down.

"Raydia, stop! Don't do it!" X protested as Raydia continued to heal him with her energy. She was beginning to feel lightheaded as she pushed more of her energy into his power output.

"_X...it is a ninja's destiny to die, but a warrior's is to protect._ _Save the humans, X. And...farewell._" Raydia said in a warming voice. She closed her eyes and gave one final push, sending the remainder of her energy into X's core. She let out one final puff of air before collapsing on the ground.

"Raydia!" X screamed, even though he was coursing with energy, he felt empty inside. He still couldn't save her, despite his protesting. He looked over at Epsilon, who was now leaning in an odd manner, as if being held back. "(X! What are you waiting for! Destroy the lock!)" Epsilon said in Zero's voice. X took a long look at Raydia's lifeless body, then he stood up and walked over towards the blade that was protruding from the ground. Tears formed up at the bottom of his eyes as he pulled the blade up from the ground. He looked at Epsilon with a murderous glance.

"Paradise was never meant to exist." X said coolly as he threw the sword at the Lock with amazing force. He felt tears running down his face as he did so. Everything seemed to slow down as the blade hurtled toward the Lock. Epsilon tried desperately to stop what was inevitable, but Zero was holding him still. "NOOOOO!" He screamed as the blade pierced through the Lock. X walked over to the saber hilt and pulled it out of the Lock. When he replaced the hilt, the Lock shattered into a flurry of iridescent light. The Gates formed fissures and broke down into a torrent of particles.

Epsilon cried out in pain and held his head as he was engulfed in a bright light. X shielded his eyes as he looked on at the light. He saw a figure emerge from the light. X closed his eyes and seemed to be concentrating. He walked back over to Raydia and knelt down. Her eyes shot open after a moment and she drew in shallow, quick breaths. X let a huge puff of air escape his mouth as she woke up. She slowly stood up, wondering why she wasn't dead.

"_Wh-what happened? How am I...alive?_" Raydia asked herself as she looked around. She looked at X, who had tears in his eyes, succeeding in his task. "I hid some of the energy you gave me. I added my life energy to it." X said while almost sobbing. She couldn't help but smile at him. This is why X was so well liked by those who looked up to him. She then saw a familiar figure behind X. "_Zero?_"

X whipped his head around to see Zero standing behind him with a grin on his face. "Well, this is certainly a pickle. What do you say we finish this?" Zero said. X stood up quickly and put his friend in a bear hug. When he released him, he turned around and saw a beat up looking Epsilon, barely alive and bleeding on the ground.

"Hah...hah...fools." He spit up a large amount of blood, splattering it over the ground. "Even...though...I did not open...Paradise Eden..." He paused for a moment. Zero knelt down next to him. "Go on!"

"...you cannot stop...the inevitable destruction...of the world..." The whole area shook violently as X stood up. He narrowed his eyes. "What are talking about?" X said crossly.

"With Eden...only the humans...would have died...but now..._everything_ will perish...in due time..." He choked out, a sinister smile creeping up on his face. He felt the last bits of his life fade away as Zero ran his saber through his back. His red eyes became empty orbs. Replacing the hilt in his back, Zero turned around. He jumped back, just barely dodging a chunk of debris from the tall ceiling.

"What do you think he meant by that?" X asked Zero, who was looking for an exit. "Not completely sure. But we should get out of here..." He said while a large metal pipe crushed the ground in front of his feet. "NOW!" X nodded as he told Zero the coordinates. "Why are you telling me!" Zero protested. "Because I don't have helmet!" X countered. Soon, they were engulfed in crimson and blue lights, escaping the building as it came down. The world around Epsilon was coming down in torrents as he became buried in tons of debris.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ikijuka Desert  
Time:  
-23:45-

A bright beam of light came out of nowhere. Two figures emerged from it and landed on the hardened ground. They stood up and looked on at the crumbling building that housed the greatest evil either of them had seen. Sighing, they looked on in the direction of the MHHQ.

"Well, we did it! Again..." X said relieved that this whole ordeal was over. Paradise Eden never opened. They had dodged a huge bullet. Zero stretched out him arms. "So, uh. We walkin' the entire thirty million thousand miles, or can we I.T. back to the base?" Zero in a monotone voice. He smirked over at his friend, and noticed that there was another figure behind him. "What a sec? Raydia! When did you get here?" X was surprised as well, not because Raydia was behind him, but because Zero could see her as well.

"You can see her too!" Zero nodded his head furiously. They both turned to regard her. She sweat dropped and grinned.

"_Long story short, I had a little bit of both of your DNA in me, so both of you can see me._" She chirped out. Zero nodded, still getting used to how she sounded when she talked. "Can you read minds?" He asked out of the blue. She nodded affirmatively. "Well, do me favor if you will? Could you only reside in X? I have too many private thoughts I don't want shared..." Raydia raised an eyebrow before getting an image of a pretty reploid girl with brown hair. She had a red hat on her head. She realized who it was. "_Oh. Sure. I understand._" He gave her his grin. "Thanks!" X also knew that he was referring to Iris.

"Zero, does your comm link work?"

"Yeah, one sec..." He brought a hand up to his ear and waited a moment.

-Beep-

"_WHERE'S X! Is he okay!_" Zero flinched greatly as the bloodcurdling screech of Alia's voice pounded his ear.

"He's fine Alia. I.T. us back to the base."

"_Who is this!_" Zero sweatdropped as he handed the helmet to X. X put it on and talked for a moment before the three of them were engulfed in a light and shot off towards the night sky.

To be continued...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And there you go! The climax of the story! But, what's after the climax? The resolution! What does that mean? There's more to come! I still need to tell the rest of the story. And don't worry, Scar and Rayne haven't disappeared. So, stay tuned!

Till next time!


	17. Epilogue: Hope for the Future

Disclaimer: Got Capcom?

A/N: This chapter is a little angsty, with some more death, and harsher language. In between the T and M ratings. T+ or M-. You get the idea!

**Epilogue: Hope for the Future**

MHHQ- Assembly Hall  
Time:  
-23:48-

The warp field hummed to life in the near empty Assembly Hall. Alia nearly rebooted when she got a sudden transmission from Zero, so she was alert and ready for the ignition of the field. The same could not be said for Signas though; he had dozed off while trying to find something to do to pass the time. He also fell out of his chair, so he got up, brushed himself off and ran over to Alia, who was waiting for someone to walk through from the other side.

"Alia, what's going on?" The joyful girl was shifting side to side with her hands clasps together and in front of her face. She seemed to ignore him as she continued her gleeful dance. Grunting, Signas turned towards the field as it suddenly started to glow brighter.

The field dimmed, revealing two figures on the field. X stood up next to Zero, who took in a deep breath of air. Alia's eyes lit up as she ran over to the shorter reploid, literally knocking Zero off of the platform. She embraced him tightly, not giving him a chance to speak or anything. Zero, after regaining his balance, proceeded to step off of the platform. He was stopped by Signas, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Good to have you back, Zero." Signas said in a firm voice while extending his arm. Grinning, Zero extended his own arm and shook the Supreme Commander's hand. "It's good to be back." Signas thought the handshake felt a bit strange. Zero kept cheesing as his left hand covered something on his abdomen. Now he was suspicious.

"Busted. Go to the Med Lab, have them look you over." Zero's face changed abruptly. Signas made note of this and sighed. "I know you don't care for the Lifesavers, Zero, but you need to be looked at." Zero was feeling too much pain to argue, so he nodded. "What about X? How's he doing?" Right on cue, Signas heard X yelp rather painfully. He looked over to see him holding his left arm, kneeling on the ground. Alia was over-apologizing while X was shaking his head, trying to dismiss her worries. Signas ran over to the console near the center of the room and opened the announcement link.

-Click-

"Attention medical staff: Megaman X and Zero have returned and need immediate first aid. I repeat, Megaman X and Zero have returned. That is all."

-Click-

Signas stepped down from the console and looked on at the injured hunters and Alia. They all had narrowed pupils and wide jaws, including Raydia. Signas gave them a quizzical look. "What?"

"Signas...why did you do that?" Alia basically screamed. He was shocked at first, then he realized what he just did. Playing innocently, he asked. "Do what?"

"Why didn't you use their frequency to page them?" X answered rather crossly. Signas, still trying to figure out how to weasel out of this blunder, gave them the simple answer.

"I dismissed most everyone on base including the Med Lab, so no one would pick up on it." He said nonchalantly. This only made X and Zero's eyes bulge even more and made their jaws droop even lower.

"Ahh! Now _everyone _will bum rush us with a jillion questions! _Again!_" Zero blurted out. Signas rubbed his head and laughed. Despite his cheerful expression, X and Zero felt even more uneasy.

"Not to worry. Sentries are on watch for crowds of large mass. Only the Med Lab staff is getting through these doors." A large boom was heard outside through the large digisteel doors. Everyone in the room felt uncomfortable as a repeated knocking was heard through the doors. A burst transmission came through on the large holo-monitor in the middle of the room. On it was a top perspective view of Tank, one of the 'sentries' just outside the door. He was wearing a vexed expression.

"_Signas! Why in Light's name did you do that?_" He asked while looking behind him. The pounding noise filled the room but was not directly in the room. Yet. Signas looked puzzled. The camera moved to show a reploid braced up against a large door. It was Dozer, the other 'sentry'. He had his back against the doors, feet spread shoulder length apart and arms spread out as well. He looked horrified as the doors behind him pulsated violently. The camera cut back over to Tank.

"_Everyone is going to bust in there now! Again _" Tank shrieked out. Signas rubbed his head. "That is why _you _are there. To stop that from happening." Zero looked at Signas, thinking that this is something that he himself would have done, but unintentionally.

"_AHH! THEY'RE BREAKING THROUGH! I CAN'T HOLD THE DOORS!_" This rather loud holler was heard moments before a screeching blast filled the room. Tank turned to look at a sliding Dozer. He shrieked in panic as the camera cut to view the first set of doors open wide. A torrent of noisy hunters spilled into the long hallway.

"_What have you done?_" Tank yelped out before the large mob of hunters swallowed him up. The camera cut transmission, as well as the link. Signas looked dumbfounded. The whole group was startled as a large amount of commotion throbbed from the doors. Zero had backed up to where X and Alia were standing by now. "Signas, this happens _all the time_. Why? Do you **like** being rushed by the entire headquarters every time X and Zero complete a big mission?" Alia harped out. They all almost screamed when a short range I.T. field opened up and Kicker stepped out of it.

"Oh my god! Signas, sir, do you know how many people are outside those do--" Kicker started.

"Yes! I know! Just take those two and go!" Signas interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest of his lecture. Kicker motioned for X and Zero to follow him into the field, and they hastily followed. The field closed shortly after. Signas sighed as a bolt on the door flew off.

"Perhaps one day I'll learn, Alia." He turned his head to regard the reploid in question. "Alia?" She wasn't there. She had left him to face the torrent of hunters alone. Signas took in a large breath and held it as he stood firm, awaiting the punishment from the mob.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Med Lab  
Time:  
-00:16-

Kicker finished sealing X's arm up when a Lifesaver came to report something to him. "Sir, Major Alia wishes to speak with Colonel X." The Lifesaver said in a monotonic voice. Kicker nodded for him to let her proceed. X called out to the Lifesaver with a confused voice.

"Wait a sec! _Colonel X_?" X sounded stupefied. Alia busted in the O.R., her face gleaming with triumphant resonance.

"X! Have you heard? Promotions for everyone!" She shrieked out. X noticed she wasn't garbed in her armor or her active-duty uniform. Instead, she had a short-sleeved denim jacket on over a black t-shirt with blue jeans and white sneakers. X sat up as she approached the bed he was on.

"Yeah! Congratulations on that!" He said while standing up, flexing his arm. She couldn't help but smile.

"X, come on! Everyone's waiting for you at the party!" Alia exclaimed. X looked bit confused. "Party? That's okay...I'm, er, kind of tired. And I think that I need to rest my arm a bit more." She lowered her eyebrows and looked over at Kicker, who was sitting down at a sub-desk in the corner of the room, was typing something on his keyboard.

"Is he cleared to leave, Doc?" Alia called out. Kicker turned around in his chair and waved good-bye to them. X gave him a merciless glance before being dragged out of the room. Laughing to himself, Kicker stretched out his arms and stood up. Today had been a long day, and he was exhausted. As he prepared to leave, he ran into a familiar reploid.

"Oh, Leyna. What's up?" He asked while yawning. She went past him and checked behind one of the curtains. Frustrated, she went back over to Kicker.

"Kick, have you seen Zero?" Kicker shoved his hands in his pockets. "No, can't say that I have. He was released about twenty minutes ago." Sighing heavily, she ran out of the O.R. He didn't even _want _to know what Zero did this time.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Downtown Arcadia- Northwest District  
Time:  
-00:26-

She sighed to herself as the traffic light turned green. Where could he be? Leyna pondered on Zero's usual hangouts, but there were too many to count. So she would just wait until tomorrow to try to talk to him. Right now, she had her own problems to reflect on. Past problems to be exact. And the only way to do that was to drink them away. She pulled her car into the lot of Keena's Retreat, a bar she was fond of. She was surprised to see so many vehicles, though she shouldn't have been, seeing as how today _was _a day of celebration. She put the alarm on and stuffed the key into her pocket.

The bell on the door jingled but could barely be heard, seeing as how there was a multitude of patrons in the place, filling the bar with commotion. Leyna pushed her way past a few familiar faces, inspecting some but not finding who she was looking for. She sat at an empty stool at the less crowded and somewhat quieter side of the counter. The bartender, Keena, smiled when she saw her.

"'Ey! If it isn't Leyna! How are ya?" The dark haired woman asked with a slight Australian accent. Leyna smiled weakly. "Not too bad, Keena. And you?"

"Can't complain. Business is great tonight, as you can see. What can I getcha?" Putting an elbow on the counter and leaning her head into her palm, she sighed.

"The hardest stuff you got." She looked on at rowdy crowd. It looked like a few people from her unit were having a contest with a few from the 1st.

"Comin' right up! You tryin' to drown some sorrow, mate?" Keena asked as she poured some mystery liquor in a can with soda water. Leyna only nodded. Keena gave a resounding "Hmm.", as she shook the can up. Leyna noticed a person with a thick black leather jacket and black hat sitting at a table by himself. Actually, she couldn't tell if 'he' was male or female. Keena poured the mix from the can into a frosty glass. She slid it down the counter to Leyna who lazily caught it.

"Thanks, Keena. Owe you one." Leyna said as she took a gulp of the liquor. "S'all good, mate. Anything for a friend." Keena gave her a warm smile before running off to serve another patron. Leyna continued to gulp down her drink as she stared at the shifting crowd. A few of the people seemed to turn upside down and walk on the ceiling. Some of them sank through the floor. Others turned into differently colored fruits, like orange apples, red bananas, and blue strawberries. See blinked a few times when green rabbits started talking to her.

"Jeez, this stuff is potent." She whispered to herself. One of the rabbits walked up to her and picked her up by the collar. She then felt something hard ram into her stomach, causing her to blackout for a sec. She heard that the noise in the bar died down, but someone was yelling. She opened her eyes to see that she was pinned against the wall by a tall individual. It looked like a wolf with a large moon shaped scar on his face. He must be a reploid. She then realized that he was yelling and screaming at her.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" The wolf said while baring his teeth. Leyna was in no mood to fight, or resist for that matter. Maybe this was the best way she could get rid of the past. Smirking, she said, "I see you still have that scar. Did you miss me _that _much?" Enraged, the tall wolf humanoid growled before drawing his fist back, ready to bludgeon the regretless girl.

"Hey, Balto. Put the girl down. Didn't your mama ever teach you how to treat women? It certainly isn't like that." A voice that was mysterious to him called out. He lowered his eyebrows. The person that was sitting at the table was now standing behind him, his stance relaxed. Wolfen didn't bother to turn his head to see who was mocking him. Instead he tried warding him off.

"Whoever who are, you had best leave if you enjoy living." He said coolly while looking out of the corner of his eyes. Leyna could barely see over Wolfen's broad shoulders. The person in black had their hat pulled down, obscuring their eyes.

"Why don't you take your own advice, Scooby-Doo?" The voice said in a somewhat quiet manner. Fed up, Wolfen snapped his fist back into the face of the person in black. The man didn't do anything but turn his head to let the blow glance off his cheek. His hat fell, revealing a head full of blonde hair, which slightly obscured vivid green eyes. He wore a blank expression. By now, Wolfen had turned his attention to the man in a black overcoat, dropping Leyna to the ground.

"Well, punk. You had your chance to run." Wolfen said cockily. The man turned his head back to the wolf reploid.

"I don't run from problems; I fix them." He said as he pushed a lock of blonde hair from his eyes. Wolfen felt his stomach drop as he realized who was in front of him. Just his luck. Nonetheless, he threw a punch at the man, who effortlessly grab his arm and twisted it behind his back. He then proceeded to grab his leg and pick him up over his head. He walked over across the bar towards the doors. A couple of hunters opened the doors and for their commander as he threw the wolf reploid on the ground with force. He hollered out as his arm and leg were bent awkwardly.

"Don't let me catch you around here again. _Ever_." Zero said as he returned to the bar, his trademark golden hair following him. The patrons in the place erupted with cheers for the well known reploid. He walked back over to his table and sat down, his expression grim. The previous bustle of the bar revived and continued as if nothing had happened. Leyna broke away from the small crowd around her as she told them she was fine. She walked over and sat down next to Zero, who seemed oblivious to her.

"Hey, how are you doing?" She broke the ice. Almost. As soon as she finished asking, Zero had a question of his own.

"Who was that guy? You know him?" He asked without making eye contact. Leyna twitched a little in her seat. "Just...a painful memory..." She said while combing her purplish hair back with hand. Her eyes looked stern as she said that. Zero didn't notice of course.

"I didn't know you came here. Few people know about this place." She said, still amazed that the 0th was here in its entirety. "I usually don't. Gene's place is my primary choice, but that got destroyed during X and Alia's 'vacation'. So I found this place by accident. And they followed." Zero explained to her. 'They' was referring to Special Unit 0. Leyna, trying to get un-sober, failed miserably and yelled to Keena for another strong drink. "Bastard knocked me sober..."

"Leyna, why aren't you at the party? They _are _having one, right?" Zero asked, once again not looking. Sighing, Leyna dropped her head into her palm.

"Well, I was looking for you, because you weren't there. So after I found out that you weren't anywhere on base, decided to drown out my miseries here. Then I ran into an 'old friend', you kicked his ass, and here we are." Keena walked over to the table they were at and set down two glasses.

"Here you go! Two suicide sodas!" She said cheerfully. Leyna looked up at her with a confused glance. "Two?"

"Sure: one for you and one for the gentleman who saved your ass. You both look like you need to forget somethin'." She walked off behind the counter, waving as she went. Zero perked up when he heard this.

"Hey, don't drink that yet." He managed to stop her for a question. She set the glass down and turned towards him. "So, if you don't mind, what miseries are you trying to escape?" He asked while sitting in the same position she was in. Sighing, she was about to spill the beans but realized that this was her chance to get Zero to open up to her.

"You first. I wanna hear the story you were gonna tell we while we were on our way to destroy the cannon." Zero lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry but...it hurts too badly...maybe some other time..." She gave an exasperated sigh.

"And you think _my _past is any less painful?" She said almost crossly. Zero didn't say anything. "Nothing makes your past any worse than mine! Zero, everyone has a past they want to run away from. Something deep down that hurts." Zero held up two fingers. She looked at them with confusion.

"Two people that both you and I know, don't fit into that category." Zero said while looking up at her slowly. "Who?"

"Megaman X and me." Before Leyna could protest Zero started his explanation. "I say X, because he is too pure. As long as I've known him, he's never done _anything_ that he regrets. _Anything_. So in turn, he doesn't have any bad memories to forget. Now me on the other hand..." Zero stopped, feeling a tear well up in his eye. Leyna quit trying to protest when he got to this part, seeing the visible tear.

"It's not that I _want_ to run away from my past. I _can't _run away. I _need _to remember what I've done. It's the only way I've been able to suppress the monster within me. If I forget about, then the demon inside me will wake up. My past is the only reason I live!" Zero cried out before covering his eyes with his large hand, letting his hair droop over his face. This was a shock to her. This was the first time she had ever seen Zero breakdown. It had to be serious for him to breakdown like this.

"Zero, what happened? What's paining you so much?" She scooted her chair closer to him. She just hoped she wouldn't get more than she bargained for. He wiped at his eyes and crossed his arms and set them on the table. He sat there for many moments, not moving. She got up and got ready to leave, but Zero grabbed her arm, motioning for her to sit. So she did. Turning to face her, Zero drew in a breath to explain his painful, but vivid memory. She noticed that many of the patrons had already left.

"It was about four years before the Space Colony incident, when Repliforce was still around. I was friends with Colonel for a while before then. He had a sister, too. Her name was Iris. She was a sweet girl, and I had emotions for her. But after the government labeled them as mavericks, Colonel and I didn't really see eye to eye. We would fight constantly, but Iris would stop us before we killed each other. But one day..." He felt his voice starting to shake, as more tears formed up. Leyna crossed her hands and held them in front of her face.

"...one day, he stopped me on my way to the space port. I begged him to let me pass, but we ended up fighting to the death. I didn't want to fight him. I killed him. I didn't have a choice. While I was on my way to Sigma...I ran into her. I ran into Iris. I had already killed her brother...I...was forced to take her life as well. It wasn't supposed to happen that way...and all this happened on this very date. The anniversary that will torment me for the rest of my life..." Zero broke down now, but it wasn't in the way most people did it. He was crying, but his tears held all the sobs, all the sorrow, all of the angst. He was crying without audible sound, but visible sound. The tears proved that as they rolled down his face and broke away as gravity took them. They cried out as they hit the cold reality of the table, being silenced forever.

Leyna was thunderstruck. She had wanted to know more about him, but this was _deep_. This wasn't the Zero she was used to. This wasn't the cocky, womanizing, arrogant man she knew. This was a frightened, tormented, isolated man. She suddenly felt guilty for talking down to him earlier. "Zero...I'm sorry I yelled earlier. I had no idea...no idea..." She suddenly felt tears well up in her eyes. "It's ok. You couldn't have possibly known. You're the only other person who knows besides X..." Zero said as he smiled weakly. She was taken aback. "You...trust me enough to keep your secret?" He nodded. She felt a certain vibe from Zero, something that told her that he wouldn't tell anyone anything about what she was going to tell him, even if he somehow would profit from it.

"Zero, will you promise to keep what I'm about to tell you a secret? From everyone? Including X?" She asked, getting him to look up at her, tears flowing in incessant brooks. 'Uh-oh' he thought. Though he would usually keep to himself when he reflects on this day, Leyna instilled a sense of security. She was genuine, a trait that was missing from most women he met. This is probably why he opened up to her so freely. Wiping his eyes free of tears, he gave her his answer. "Of course, I promise." She sighed, but looked around and stood up. Zero looked at her confusedly.

"Let's go somewhere else: too many wandering ears." She whispered as she motioned over to the 0th. He nodded his head, which hurt a bit from the crying. She called over to Keena, who was drying off a glass. Once she got her attention, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a few Zenny. She tossed it over to the bartender with a flick of her thumb, who quickly tossed it back in the same manner.

"S'on the house, mates!" She said while smiling. "Thanks! See ya around!" Leyna said as the two walked out of the door. Zero was becoming fond of his place.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The two maverick hunters exited the bar with a jingle of the bell. It had begun to snow, as the white stuff was falling gently towards the Earth. "I'll bring the car around. She said while Zero nodded slowly. She disappeared around the corner, leaving footprints in the snow. Zero leaned up against the wall, staring up at the sky, not that there was much to see. The grayish clouds above him merging with one another, the gently falling snow creating a peaceful ambience. The sound of a horn trying to deafen him.

Zero snapped out of his daze to see Leyna in her hover car, honking the horn on it. He didn't know why he felt embarrassed, but he opened the door when he got to it, and sat down in the seat. He pulled the door down shut, and the car sped off down the street.

An unusual silence filled the car as she drove down the near empty streets of Downtown Arcadia, so she decided to soften up the mood a bit. "What's your favorite color?" Zero turned around and looked at her with curiosity. She glanced at him with a grin. "Well?"

"I like gray." Zero said surprisingly. Leyna's grin grew wider. "Gray?"

"Mmmhmm. Gray." Zero said nonchalantly. "Most people assume that it's red." Leyna chuckled a bit. "Lemme guess: you can't stand red?" He nodded his head. "It reminds me what I am. The blood of those I've stained my hands with." He stared at his hands as if they were actually covered with the red liquid. More silence ensued.

"Hey. Where exactly are we going?" He asked, looking over at the purple haired girl. She suddenly pulled the car to a stop. She beckoned for him to get out and join her. She walked out towards the guardrail overlooking a brink. Zero noticed that she had driven them out to the edge of Downtown Arcadia. This info he was about to receive was definitely for his ears only. He leaned on the rail next to her.

"So...you ready to hear my story?" She asked while looking over at him. He gave her an affirmative nod. Sighing inwardly, she began telling the story.

_She was scared. Ailita was running down one of the dark alleys of Neo Arcadia. She had to get out. She had to go somewhere. Ailita was part of a small, but very dangerous mob syndicate. Namely, she was one of their bounty hunters. Everything had gone smoothly for her before tonight. Now she didn't want anything to do with them. They would be after her soon, and she would probably be caught. That couldn't happen; she wanted to live. The long brown hair reaching down to her back whisked around as she ran. Rain poured in torrents, washing away the blood on her face. Tears stung her stormy gray eyes. What just happened? She thought back to the past events._

_All she was supposed to do was catch the bounty head, Brian Washington. Eyes in the sky told that he was out with his family tonight. This man was an alleged fraud mastermind and the supposed leader of a vicious and rival syndicate. On top of that, he also held information about an underground operation. So an order went out that she and her team go out to recover that info, and turn him in. The plan was to follow this man to his house, get the files and turn him in on behalf of the syndicate. It seemed simple enough. She was perched inside an abandoned building, studying the photo she had been given. Then she radioed in for confirmation._

"_Sam, this is Ailita. Are sure that's the guy?"_

"_Yea, yea! It's him!" A gruff voice sounded over the small old styled radio she had in her ear. The reason her team used these radios was for the simple fact that no one else used them anymore. They were ancient. This provided the smallest chance for an outsider to patch through and eavesdrop._

"_Who's all with him?" She asked him. An audible sigh of agitation was heard on the other side. "It's him, his wife, and two kids. Looks like a teenager and a little girl, 'bout ten or eleven years old." Sam was cloaked and airborne, flying in close to the family-sized hovercar when he could. Otherwise, he just followed them, sending out radio messages when the bounty head made a turn._

_Ailita watched the rain fall from her window. She sighed. It had been only one year since her creator died. And it was raining like this on that day as well. She remembered him well. Old, about in his mid sixties. He had the white hair and everything. He told her that he created her in place of his daughter, who had died years earlier. He told her that she had been taken by Mavericks when she was on her way to visit him from DenTec._

"_Yes. Leyna would be about twenty-seven, if she were still living today. Why do you ask, Ailita?" The old doctor Strider asked his younger looking replica daughter. "I was wondering why you didn't create me with an older appearance?" The curious girl asked. The old man chortled. "Well, I wanted you to experience life as a teenager. Not quite a child, not quite an adult." He said while smiling. Ailita thought for minute before grinning wildly. "I like that, Dad!" She leaned over and gave her human father a hug. He returned hug with one of his own. "I love you Daddy." "I love you too, Ailita."_

_About a week later, Ailita opened the door to her house and walked in, with an armful of wet grocery bags. There was a terrible storm outside that seemed to worsen by the minute. She kicked the door closed and called out for her father. "Dad! I'm home! Daddy?" She felt like something was wrong when he didn't answer. Her hunch was solidified when she smelled something in the air. Blood. Dropping the bags, she hurried off in the direction the stench was coming from. Fear was taking hold of her as she neared the source. She screamed when she rounded the corner and saw that Doctor Strider lay motionless on the ground in a pool of blood. Next to him was his wallet, which had been emptied. The window had been broken into, with the glass spread out on the floor. Scared, confused and grief-stricken, Ailita ran out of the house and into the cold, rainy night._

_Ailita opened her eyes when Raven's voice called out her name. She shook her head, clearing those thoughts._

"_Sorry 'bout that, Rae." She said, looking out of her window. "Be ready in ten seconds." A female voice sounded over the radio. "I don't even know who did it...it doesn't even matter anymore." She muttered to herself. "Hunh? What's that mean, Lita?" Raven asked quizzically. "Oops! Just talking to myself. Let's go!" She said, realizing that she left the radio on. Pulling her cloak over her shoulders and flipping her hood over her head, she leapt out of the window and into the cold, rainy night._

_>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>_

_The hover car pulled into a driveway. The doors opened, letting the passengers on the inside out. The family huddled under a large umbrella, trying to keep dry from the rain. Lighting flashed high in the sky, illuminating the darkness for a brief moment. A figure in a cloak was illuminated for a moment as well. The family rushed towards the house, splashing in puddles as they went. They were at the door, when the father turned around and ran back to the car._

"_Whoops! Forgot my watch!" He said as he made his way back to the car. Another flash of lightning illuminated the area, revealing a cloaked figure running towards the house. He opened the driver side door and ruffled around for something. Ailita looked on from a tree. She looked over at the mother and children, who were laughing as they went inside. Something just didn't feel right about this job..._

"_(They look so happy. But, some things can't be helped.)" She thought as the man started running back towards the house. "Alright guys, it's go time." She said as she hopped down from the tree._

_The man was jogging back towards the house when his foot hit something. This caused him to slow down and stop. He looked around on the ground for something. A bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating the ground. He shrugged it off as he didn't find anything but a rock he would probably trip on. He was about to start jogging again, but a firm arm around his clavicle and a cold piece of metal pressed to his throat prevented that._

"_What the mmffm?" He managed to yelp out before the hand slipped up to cover his mouth._

"_Shh shh. It would be in your best interest to be quiet, Mr. Washington. Now, if you cooperate, you will not be hurt." A female voice spoke to him softly. She was a professional; she knew what she was doing. He nodded his head slowly. "Now, let's start walking towards the house." He did as he was told. They took normal sized, but quiet steps toward the house. Ailita didn't know why she felt so bad. Almost like they were making a mistake. The man heard an odd, static sound._

"_This is Bass. Beat, I'm at my location. I'll let you know if there's any trouble." Another voice said, this one sounding like a male voice and more mature and older than his captor. "Roger that. We'll be in and out within five." Ailita looked around for signs of Raven. There she was, pressed up against the wall of the between a bush. She waved to Ailita after peering into the window. Nodding her head, Ailita motioned for her to stand ready._

"_Where's the safe located, Mr. Washington?" She asked. He didn't say anything. She pressed the knife firmer on his throat. "I'll ask again. Where's the safe located, Mr. Washington?" She said, her voice becoming firm as well._

"_It's behind the picture that hangs under the clock in the living room." He spoke carefully. She nudged him in the back, making him walk a bit faster. "What is it that you want?" He asked. She answered him by pressing the knife harder on his throat. When they reached the door, Ailita signaled for Raven to take Washington._

"_Open the door." The new voice said to him. He did so and opened the door in a casual manner. No one in sight. The three walked into the house, with Ailita looking for the place Washington described._

"_Honey? Is that you?" A feminine voice called out from the adjacent room. Raven jabbed him in the ribs, goading him to answer. But before he could, his wife rounded the corner and screamed when she saw the sight. Immediately following her yelp, two figures emerged from the staircase next to the kitchen._

"_Mom? What's wrong?" A teenage male voice asked as the two figures trotted down the stairs. Raven pointed her pistol at Mr. Washington's head. "All of you, stay where you are! Move, and its lights out for daddy! Speak not a word!" Raven spat out with authority. Ailita cast a worried glance at her. She gave Ailita a look that said 'I'm only threatening them'. Turning back around, Ailita removed the picture and found what she was looking for. She immediately placed her hand over the keypad and closed her eyes. Her fingers moved swiftly over the keypad, inputting numerous combinations per second._

"_Don't hurt my daddy!" A small voice called out from the top of the stairs. Raven looked up to see a little girl with red hair hiding behind the boy at the top of the stairs. He was trying to shush her up. "You, up there! Down here, now." Raven ordered while motioning for the woman to sit down on the couch. They were hesitant, and did not move. Raven let out a low growl and cocked the pistols slide back, loading a bullet into the chamber. "I suggest you get down here...NOW." She said firmly while looking over at Ailita. The two on the stairs joined their mother on the couch. _

"_How's it coming, Beat?"_

"_Almost...got it!" She said as the safe popped open and she reached inside. Raven grinned, though no one could see it under the shadows of her hood. Ailita pulled out a few files, scanned them, then went through several more. She gasped when she found a file containing his personal info. "Rae, let him go." Raven looked over at her quizzically, but did as she was told. Ailita walked over to the man, file in hand._

"_You aren't Brian Washington, are you?" She asked, getting a gasp from everyone in the room. He looked her in the eyes, or actually, where here eyes would be if he could see them. "No...I'm not. He's my brother. I'm Adam Washington." Raven's jaw dropped. They had the wrong man._

"_Dammit! I should've known! I knew something didn't feel right..." Ailita shouted as she threw the file to the ground. She turned to Adam. "Where is your brother then?"_

"_You mean you haven't heard? He was caught by the police a few months ago. Wait a minute...you guys must be bount--" He said before a loud screech emanated from Ailita's radio._

"_Ailita! Raven! You have to get out of there! Hurry, before Wolfen--KKZZZTT" The transmission was suddenly cut off. A deafening crash alerted the entire room as a body slammed through the front door. A clap of thunder intensified the noise, as rain and debris flew into the house. Ailita caught the dead weight in her arms. The Washington family screamed._

"_Sam! Shit!" She screamed as she checked his body for wounds. His body was riddled with numerous gashes. She set him down in the corner away from the hole in the wall and tried to stop the bleeding. Raven drew out her pistol and a combat knife. As she looked on outside, a glowing pair of amber eyes caught her attention. Sam weakly opened his eyes, his sopping wet red hair clinging to the sides of his face. Ailita noticed his breathing slowing down dramatically. _

"_Dammit Sam. Don't die! Sam? Sam..." His blue eyes faded into nothing. "Shit! Lita, we gotta go!" Raven called out but then cried out. Ailita snapped her head up when the little girl behind the taller reploid teen screamed out, "A WOLF!"_

_Raven was being held by her throat two feet off of the ground by Wolfen, a member in their syndicate. He had a cloak that was similar to the one that Raven and Ailita were wearing. Why was he here? What exactly was he doing? Raven's hood blew off of her head, revealing her raven black hair. She clutched at his arm fruitlessly, trying to break his grip on her neck. "Enngh! What are you doing here...Wolfen?" She choked out. He pulled back his black lips and bared his teeth._

"_Couple reasons, actually. For starters, I really don't trust you bounty hunters, even though you hold the respect of the Boss. Secondly, I'm here to clean up the mess you guys made. Capturing Brian Washington! What were you fools thinking?" He said as he smirked. Ailita stood up now._

"_Wolfen, you're the one whose gave us the heads up on him!" She shouted crossly as she drew a knife from under her cloak. She looked over at Adam and his family who were huddled up in a corner before diverting it back towards Wolfen. He was laughing loudly. "It's not my fault if you don't dip your foot in the water before jumping in!" A loud clap of thunder filled the air as the rain outside turned into a small monsoon. Suddenly, Raven drew her pistol and aimed it at Wolfen's head. Right when she pulled the trigger, Wolfen snapped his head to the left, avoiding a bullet. He grabbed her pistol hand and bent it forcefully back, causing her to cry out and drop the gun._

"_Bitch." Was all he muttered as he tightened his already vice-like grip on her neck. A sickening crack emanated from her neck as her body went limp. Wolfen proceeded to throw her into the darkness of the storm. Now he turned his gaze to Ailita. She rushed forward with amazing speed and threw a punch at his chest. He was expecting her to attack with the knife, so he failed to dodge the fist. She continued to bluff him with knife feints and kicks and punches. After she had him outside the hole, he swiftly took a swipe at her face, connecting and sending blood flying onto the wall. She jumped and spin kicked him in the face. She turned to face the family huddled in the corner. "Run! Get outta here!" Her hood had been torn to shreds from Wolfen's claws, releasing her long brown hair. She looked at them with her florescent gray eyes. Three cuts streaked across her face, letting blood flow freely down her left cheek. She looked back over at Sam's lifeless body. Tears started to form in her eyes._

"_Dad, I think we should leave! Or call for help, something!" The teenage reploid asked his human father. Adam looked around for the phone. Not seeing it, he stood up and walked over to the couch, searching for the phone. The rest of the group got up and looked as well. The little girl went over towards the stairs._

"_Daddy! I found it!" She picked up the phone and ran over to Adam. Time seemed to slow down as a foreboding clanking sound hit the floor. The teen was the first to hear it, being a reploid. He looked at the grenade that hit the floor with fear. Rushing forward, he grabbed his younger sister and shielded her from the inevitable blast. He squinted his eyes as he waited for the explosion, but an odd popping sound took place of the explosion. "Oh my god! Adam what is that?" Elena cried out as the grenade split into many smaller pods, which stuck to the walls and ceiling. Stryke's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. A bright flash illuminated the room, as hot searing fire filled the area with pain._

_Before that..._

_Wolfen slashed repeatedly at the brown haired girl. She did her best to duck and dodge each one. He stopped momentarily. The rain was pouring in torrents, and thunder rolled across the skies. It was too dark to fight. He ducked down and turned back towards the hole in the house. Drawing out a grenade, he crept towards the house. When he was within range, he stood up and threw the grenade into the house. As soon as the grenade left his hand, the area lit up and showed Ailita jumping at him with her knife drawn. Her eyes followed the grenade as it flew through the air. She dug the rounded tip of the knife under his left eye. He yelped as she rolled on the ground and kicked him back towards the house. A moment later, the house exploded and sent both Wolfen and Ailita hurtling back away from it._

_Ailita recovered first and looked up at the house. The flames washed out from the rain almost as soon as they ignited. Falling on her knees, Ailita began weeping. Sam and Raven had been taken from her. Her father had been taken from her. The syndicate betrayed her. She had nowhere to go. She heard a voice. Looking up, she heard Wolfen mutter some words with his hand up to his ear. Then he shouted at her._

"_They're coming for you! And if they don't kill you, I will make sure that you die!" She stood up and looked at him with empty eyes. "You had better start running, girl!" And run she did. Sticking around would be suicide, seeing as how the syndicate did not tolerate failure. She no choice but to run, for her will to live was enormous._

_So there she was, running in the dark alley through the rainstorm. Left with nowhere to turn._

Zero was staring in shock. He didn't know much about Leyna's past, what she had done before the Hunters. She was leaning on the rail, her shoulders heaving. She was crying. He walked over behind her and draped his arms around her. "...I'm sorry, Leyna. I...wasn't expecting..." Zero struggled for the right words, but couldn't find them.

"After Ailita stopped running, she saw remembered what her father told her. He told her that a long time ago, he used to be in the Hunters, but had to quit when he came down with a serious illness. Back when humans could still enlist in the Hunters. She decided that that's where she needed to go. She needed to join the Maverick Hunters. But her appearance would prevent her from getting too far. She changed her eye color to blue, cut her hair shorter and dyed it purple. She also left her name behind. That's the day that Ailita died in body, and Leyna Strider was born."

She turned around and looked at Zero, her eyes shifting between blue and gray. He looked down at her, somehow sharing her pain. "So, no one knows but you and me..." She hugged him tightly and began crying into his chest. He pulled her closer to him and rustled her hair with his hand. He stared into the snowy sky.

"(_I'm sorry, Iris. She needs my attention a bit more right now._)" He thought as he looked down at the sorrowful girl. "Zero?" Leyna looked up at him with tear filled eyes, but her voice was calm and un-shaky.

"Hmm?"

"Let's go back. Let's go home." She gave him a smile. He returned her smile with one of his own. "Yeah. Sounds good!"

"You wanna drive?" Zero gave her his trademark wide-eared grin. "You know it!" They made their way over to the car and drove off, leaving behind grim sorrows and looking forward to the future.

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Unknown  
Time:  
Unknown

Epsilon floated around in what felt like air. What had just happened? Where was he? Did he die? No, he was never truly alive in the first place. So, what was he experiencing? Suddenly, he felt himself laying on something. There was a presence with him.

"So. You were not able to initialize Eden. You were not able to eliminate the Carbons?" Epsilon realized were he was now and who was speaking to him. "You have failed to complete your mission, Epsilon."

"...I'm sorry Mother Zero..."

"But perhaps...It was too early to initiate the program. It needs to be revised. And you will participate in another mission as well. Until then, we will watch what happens next."

"Mother Zero, what will happen next?"

"Patience, Epsilon. Sebastian Weil has just been born..."

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The End?

And, Voila! I give to you, the last and final chapter of Paradise Never. If you have any questions, post 'em! So, uh, what did you think? This is the _longest _chapter I have ever written. 7,743 words and counting! A milestone for me. I would like to thank all of my reviewers for taking their time to read this installment. You have all been a big help, whether you realize it or now. Now, I just have to 'fix' Birth of a Demon. Think of it as a prologue to Paradise Never. It explains the background of some of the more mysterious characters. Like Raydia. And...I lied. Remember when I told you that Scar and Rayne didn't disappear? I completely forgot about them until now. Heh heh. They will be in the next sequel to Paradise Never, which will be about what happens when the Elf Wars start up. Soooooooooooooo...

Till next time!


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